GIFT  OF 
L*r .    0  .H .    I/enman 


MEDICAL    ELECTRICITY. 


MANUAL   FOB    STUDENTS. 


SHOWING  ITS  MOST 


SCIENTIFIC  AND  RATIONAL  APPLICATION 


TO  ALL  FOBMS  OF 


ACUTE  AND  CHKOinC  DISEASE, 

BY  THE  DUTEBENT  COMBINATIONS  OP 

ELECTRICITY,  GALVANISM,  ELECTRO-MAGNETISM, 
MAGNETO-ELECTRICITY, 


HUMAN   MAGNETISM. 


BY    WILLIAM    WHITE,    M.D., 

FBOFESSOB  IN  THE  NEW  YOBK  MEDICAL  COLLEGE  FOB  WOMEN. 


IN  XL  vv     y  U  K  K  : 
S.    R.    WELLS    &    COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS, 

737     BROADWAY. 
1873. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  fcy 

SAMUEL   R.   WELLS, 
ID  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington, 


BT    JOHNLAND  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDET,  SUFFOLK  CO.,  N.  Y. 


S.  J.  CABPENTEE,  M.D. 

DEAB  FBIEND,— Fully  appreciating  the  ability  and  zeal  that  yon 
have  brought  into  the  field  of  medical  reform,  and  the  aid  you  have 
rendered  in  furnishing  some  of  the  thoughts  for  this  work,  as  well  as  in  ita 
preparation  for  the  press,  permit  me  most  respectfully  to  dedicate  it  to 
you.  The  self-evident  truths  herein  elucidated  will  speedily  commend 
themselves  to  all  progressive  minds  ;  and  my  hope  is,  that  you  may  live  to 
Bee  them  occupying  their  true  position  in  our  medical  institutions  tho 
world  over.  For  truth  is  one,  and  must  ultimately  prevail. 

WILLIAM  WHITF*  M.D. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 
PREFACE 7 


CHAPTEE  I. 

Primal  Condition  of  Matter,  and  Progress  of  Creation  up  to 
Man. 0 

CHAPTER  H. 

Man's  Continued  Progress  as  a  Physical  and  Spiritual 
Being,  Physiologically,  Chemically,  and  Electrically  con- 
sidered   15 

CHAPTEE  HI. 

Harmonious  Growth  of  the  Physical,  Mental,  and  Spiritual, 
necessary  for  the  Health  of  Man 23 

CHAPTEE  IV. 
Mind  —its  Influence  over  Man  in  all  his  Relations 27 

CHAPTEE  V. 
Conditions  of  B  eolth  and  Disease 33 


VI  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 


Curative  Agents 


CHAPTER  VIL 
Philosophy  of  Treating  Disease  ..........................     47 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
Electrical  Apparatus  ....................................     60 

CHAPTER  "iX. 
Electrical  Diagnosis  and  Medication  ............  ,  .........     71 

CHAPTER  X. 

Treatment..,  78 


ABBREVIATIONS  AND  MEANING  OF  TERMS. 

P.  C.  denotes  the  primary  current ;  S.  C.  secondary  current. 
Primary  current,  galvanic  current,  and  chemical  current,  all 
relate  to  the  galvanic  current  of  the  Battery,  or  the  primary  of 
the  Electro-Magnetic  apparatus,  and  are  all  of  the  same  nature  ; 
while  the  secondary  current,  induced  current,  and  Faradaic 
current,  all  relate  to  that  which  is  obtained  from  the  secondary 
coil  or  fine  wire  helix. 


PKEFACE. 


IIS  response  to  the  urgent  solicitations  of  many 
of  our  students  and  professional  friends,  and 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  hereafter  enter 
upon  this  branch  of  study,  the  present  work  has 
been  written  ;  believing  that  it  will  supply  a  want 
long  felt,  and  answer  both  as  a  guide  to  successful 
practice,  and  a  source  of  instruction  to  all  who 
may  give  it  a  careful  perusal. 

This  work  is  not  designed  to  supersede  the 
necessity  of  the  perusal  of  other  works  on  this 
comparatively  new  and  important  branch  of  the 
healing  art ;  for  much  has  already  been  written  on 
this  most  deeply  interesting  department  of  medi- 
cal science,  by  men  of  the  greatest  eminence,  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

Having  had  many  years'  experience  in  regular 
practice,  and  a  good  opportunity  to  test  the  effects 
of  drug  medication  alone,  and  being  many  times 
disappointed  in  the  effects  of  medical  agents,  we 
know  how  to  appreciate  the  value  of  an  agent, 
which  has,  in  hundreds  of  instances,  enabled 
us  to  cure  diseases  when  all  our  other  medical 
resources  had  failed,  during  the  past  fifteen 
years  of  our  medical  use  of  this  wonderful 


8  PREFACE. 

agent.  Yet  we  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  aa 
discarding  all  kinds  of  drug  medication,  but  would 
use  every  means  within  the  bounds  of  human 
knowledge,  whose  known  virtues  would  relieve 
suffering  and  cure  disease, — human  magnetism  in- 
cluded. For  we  know  it  to  be  a  law  of  electrical 
action,  that  the  two  electrical  polarities  are  con- 
stantly seeking  an  equilibrium,  and  that  the 
unbalanced  electrical  polarities  in  the  human 
organism  constitute  disease,  while  a  perfectly 
balanced  or  normal  condition  constitutes  health. 
And  one  would  suppose  that  this  fact  alone  would 
be  sufficient  to  convince  the  medical  world,  that 
whatever  enables  us  to  restore  this  harmony  is  an 
aid  to  nature,  and  a  sure  means  for  the  restoration 
of  health,  and  a  blessing  to  humanity. 

In  presenting  this  work  to  our  readers,  it  is  not 
our  design  to  follow  the  exact  footsteps  of  famed 
predecessors,  or  to  walk  in  the  hard-beaten  paths 
of  former  practitioners,  but  to  grasp,  so  far  as  the 
human  mind  can  comprehend  the  broad  platform 
of  truth,  keeping  for  that  purpose  a  mind  open  to 
truth  wherever  found,  trusting  that  no  one  will 
try  to  believe  the  teachings  of  the  finite  mind 
absolute  and  final.  We  shall,  then,  try  only  to  give 
our  conception  of  the  great  and  grand  principles 
which  govern  human  life  in  its  operations,  drawing 
freely  for  proof  from  all  the  sources  to  which  we 
have,  or  can  have,  access. 


MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 


MANUAL  FOR  STUDENT'S 


CHAPTER    I. 

PEIMAL     CONDITION     OF     MATTER,    AND    PROGRESS    OP 
CREATION  UP  TO  MAN. 

T  IFE,  as  a  study,  taking  it  from  the  lowest  forms 
I J  of  organized  matter  to  the  highest  known 
form,  is  one  of  the  grandest  themes  in  which  man 
can  be  engnged. 

We  watch  for  its  first  development,  and  find  it 
here  shown  in  the  gaseous  substances  of  which  the 
earth  was  first  formed,  a  certain  grand  law 
governing  and  arranging  the  gases  even  then. 

These  little  forms  of  matter  (for  even  then  they 
were  composed  of  material)  seemed  to  have  been 
moved  upon  and  worked  over  by  an  interior  life, 
and  to  have  had  an  acting,  governing  principle 
pervading  each  particle,  a  life  and  principle  which 
we  trace  through  all  forms  up  to  man. 

'9) 


10  MEPXC&L  ELECTRICITY. 


Geologists  tell  us  that  they  have  now  little 
doubt  that  this  earth  was  first  composed  of 
nebulous  matter.  Astronomers  agree  with  them 
in  this  opinion.  They  recognize  also  a  law 
arranging  and  forming  by  degrees  this  nebulous 
mass  into  a  globular  form  ;  then  a  chemical  action 
taking  place,  and,  by  electrical  laws,  bringing 
together  like  elements,  until  the  whole  mass 
became  one  ball  of  fire.  Indefinite  periods  seem 
to  have  passed,  and  still  this  burning  condition 
existed  ;  then  came  a  time  of  change,  —  a  time  when 
these  laws  acting  must  necessarily  produce  change  ; 
and  over  and  around  this  .liquid  ball  of  fire 
a  crust  was  formed. 

How  slow  the  work!  Nature  seems  never  to 
have  been  in  haste,  but  to  have  claimed  all  time 
for  this  grand  work  of  life. 

She  seems  to  have  kept  this  one  great  thought 
ever  uppermost,  and  to  have  felt  that  she  could 
afford  to  await  its  development. 

We  can  find  no  form  of  life  fitted  for  this  age 
except  the  interior  life,  which  still  labored  and 
produced  one  change  after  another,  until,  as  age 
succeeded  age,  oceans  were  born,  and  then  gross 
forms  "  to  inhabit  their  slimy  beds  and  crawl 
along  their  muddy  shores."  Through  all  this 
work  of  outgrowing  life,  we  trace  the  same  laws 
that  first  started  vital  existence.  No  labor  seemed 
too  ponderous  for  the  controlling  intelligence  in 
accomplishing  the  one  great  object  even  then  fore- 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  1] 

shadowed.  One  form  of  existence  after  another 
passed  through  its  stage  of  usefulness,  and  then 
gave  place  to  a  still  higher ;  and  yet  the  work 
went  on.  Each  period  of  time  exhibited  some 
new  species  of  life, — some  more  refined  outgrowth 
of  the  original  chemical  laws  and  primates,  and  at 
last  presenting  mankind.  Man's  life  at  first  pre- 
sents a  curious  study,  so  far  as  we  can  gain 
a  knowledge  of  it.  Little  more  than  the  common 
instincts  which  characterize  animals  seem  to  have 
been  bis.  Yet  he  was  more  than  they ;  for  he 
combined  with  all  they  had,  some  peculiar  forms 
of  being  which  they  possessed  not.  Nature's 
experiments  never  failed  :  she  had  commenced  his 
life  in  the  lowest  life ;  and  she  had  carried  that 
particular  part  of  her  work  through  all,  perfecting 
it  more  and  more  as  she  developed  higher  and 
higher  beings ;  adding  each  time  some  new  feature 
that  should  show  her  progress.  In  some  of  the 
lowest,  which  were  fish,  she  had  commenced  the 
spinal  column,  that  by  and  by  was  to  bear  erect 
man's  head,  with  its  lofty  intellect,  and  power  of 
reason.  Again,  in  another,  she  shaped  the  inter- 
nal ear,  which  now  adds  so  much  to  his  pleasure. 
How  diligently  she  labored;  for,  as  one  part 
after  another  was  formed,  she  gathered  them 
together  in  some  new  expression,  with  ever  some- 
thing new  added.  Not  only  do  we  trace  the  work 
in  the  animal  kingdom,  but  away  back  through 
the  vegetable  and  mineral. 


12  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

She  had  commenced  her  work  by  chemical  and 
electrical  laws,  putting  together  certain  chemical 
properties  to  produce  certain  effects,  and  govern- 
ing them  by  the  electrical  laws  of  polarity.  Neve* 
once  did  she  mistake  her  method  or  its  result; 
but  each  trial  brought  something  beyond  the 
preceding.  Man's  development  was  slow,  and  yet 
how  certain.  The  first  we  know  of  him  may  be 
comparatively  little,  yet  that  little  is  enough  to 
show  us  how  much  superior  the  human  was  to 
all  Nature's  previous  works. 

Instead  of  going  quietly  about,  grazing,  as  did 
the  animals  around  him,  he  seemed  even  at  that 
early  day  to  have  felt  the  prophecy  of  the  future 
of  his  race ;  and  he  sought  rude  pleasures,  and 
what  to  him  was  employment.  As  before,  each, 
new  period  had  added  something  new  in  the  form 
of  life  ;  so  now  each  generation  gave  a  higher 
outgrowth  to  man.  His  pleasures  took  a  more 
refined  form,  as  did  his  whole  being, — hardly 
perceptible  at  first,  'tis  true  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
real.  Like  the  animal,  his  instincts  seemed  to 
govern  him  ;  but,  as  generations  succeeded,  reason 
dawned  upon  him,  and  he  began  to  see  the  use  of 
objects  around  him.  So  limited  seemed  to  be  this 
dawn  of  reason,  that  his  view  of  the  use  of  all 
things  was  very  narrow ;  but  then,  as  now,  he 
appropriated  them  for  the  highest  uses  in  his 
power.  How  much  was  he  like  his  good  mother 
Earth  !  No  rest  for  him  or  her,  but  ever  an  out- 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  15 

^.  owing  life  with  both;  so,  as  time  passed,  he 
sought  higher  forms  through  which  to  express  this 
life,  and  a  larger  field  than  before  for  investigating 
uses.  Like  his  mother,  he  tried  various  experi- 
ments ;  but,  unlike  the  never-failing  accomplish- 
ment of  her  purposes,  as  controlled  by  infinite 
intelligence,  he  failed  often  before  his  finite  mind 
could  grasp  the  knowledge  sought.  We  see  that 
it  was  only  step  by  step,  taken  often  unawares, 
that  he  gained  power  over  the  elements  below 
him,  and  could  feel  himself  lifted  still  higher. 
Faintly  glimmering  through  his  mind  came 
thoughts  of  many  things  ;  and  he  labored  to  out- 
work them  :  he  wished  to  know  why  certain  plants 
grew,  if  not  for  his  benefit ;  and  why  certain 
organs  of  his  body  were  given,  if  not  for  his  plea- 
sure ;  so  he  ate  and  drank,  and  tried  still  further 
his  experiments,  until  he  found  diseases  come 
upon  him.  How  he  struggled  on  !  but  this  was 
only  the  effect  of  his  outgrowing  life,  the  same  as 
the  pent  forces  in  the  bosom  of  his  mother  Earth ; 
and  he  had  only  gained  another  step,  as  she  gains 
her  progress  by  belching  her  pent-up  forces  from 
the  volcano's  top.  Why  should  he  stop  discou- 
raged, so  long  as  her  example  bade  him  hope  for 
great  results  ?  It  was  not  his  nature :  still,  like 
her,  he  must  try  another  and  still  another  thought 
No  end,  no  rest,  but  in  change ;  and  that  brought 
true  rest.  Perhaps  we  have  no  right  to  say  that 
even  the  diseases  he  wrought  out  were  not  steps 


14  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

of  progress.  All  history,  from  the  primeval  records 
impressed  upon  the  rocks  of  his  early  time,  shows 
that  lie  was  ignorant  of  many  things  ;  and  this 
unrest  brought  him  in  time  much  experimental 
knowledge.  He  began  instinctively  to  seek  some 
cure  for  the  ills  he  felt ;  and  the  childlike  feeling 
of  awe  and  wonder  (so  natural  to  the  ignorant) 
was  the  prevailing  feeling  with  which  he  made 
use  of  the  healing  agents  he  sought.  Incantations 
and  charms,  recited  over  the  sick,  expressed  this 
feeling.  Man's  life  to-day  exhibits  the  same 
feeling  in  a  less  degree,  simply  through  his  igno- 
rance of  the  laws  of  life.  Yet  how  much  more  in 
comparison  does  he  know  to-day  than  in  the  past  ? 
He  grasps  at  some  natural  law  of  use,  and  is 
wonder-struck  at  the  result  gained ;  but  he  is 
scarcely  yet  prepared  with  knowledge  and  wisdom 
enough  to  let  this  law  provide  him  with  a  key  to 
greater  treasures  of  light.  His  out-growing  life  is 
only  just  beginning  to  realize  the  power  it  pos- 
sesses :  his  growth  is  step  by  step  as  of  old,  one 
degree  after  another  passed,  and  a  finer  being  the 
result.  Let  the  lesson  come  home  to  each  soul, 
and  so  our  reason  remain  unprejudiced  to  read 
still  of  the  future. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  15 


CHAPTEE    II. 

MAN'S  CONTINUED  PROGRESS  AS  A  PHYSICAL  AND 
SPIEITUAL  BEING,  PHYSIOLOGICALLY,  CHEMICALLY, 
AND  ELECTRICALLY  CONSIDERED. 

WE  have  taken  a  somewhat  general  view  of 
man's  first  condition  as  an  active  creature  of 
the  early  ages,  and  traced,  as  man,  his  relation  to 
Nature,  and  all  the  grand  laws  that  govern  her. 
Now  it  becomes  a  duty  to  trace  man  as  a  physio- 
logical being,  and  still  further,  and  more  minutely, 
his  likeness  to  all  around  him,  proving,  so  far  as 
we  can,  the  ground  taken. 

"We  have  seen  the  earth  first  a  nebulous  mass, 
arranged  into  spherical  form  by  grand  laws  of 
electrical  attraction  and  repulsion.  So,  after  the 
copulation  of  the  parents,  we  find  the  almost  nebu- 
lous spermatozoa  by  the  same  fixed  laws  in  the 
ovum,  forming  at  first  one  cell,  then  many,  until 
they  begin  to  develop  the  new  being.  Some 
physiologists  tell  us  of  the  rapid  motion  of  these 
cells  as  they  come  together ;  and  we  mark  there  a 
likeness  to  our  mother  Earth  :  she,  too,  had  mo- 
tion, rapidly  and  constantly  turning  ;  and  here  she 
showed  to  her  children  one  grand  law  of  all  life — 


16  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

the  peculiar  effect  the  mother  has  over  her  child 
before  its  birth.  Her  great  unrest,  her  struggles 
for  still  higher  outgrowths,  come  to  her  children 
as  a  part  of  their  heritage.  We  find  that  the  Earth 
soon  began  to  develope  her  different  structures 
from  the  chemical  primates  she  possessed,  as  the 
gases — oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  nitrogen ; 
and  the  materials  combined  with  these,  forming 
silicon,  aluminum,  calcium,  magnesium,  iron,  po- 
tassium, sodium,  and  sulphur.  Combining  these 
gases  and  metals  together,  she  makes  numberless 
specimens  of  beauty  and  use.  So,  again,  we  find 
this  spherical  mass  of  cells  in  the  embryotic 
human  being  commencing,  as  did  its  mother 
Earth,  to  collect  from  all  around  it  in  the  womb 
(the  boundary  of  its  universe)  these  elements  for 
its  growth :  sulphur  for  the  albumen,  fibrine, 
caseine,  gelatine,  &c. ;  phosphorus,  with  albumen 
and  fibrine  for  the  brain :  silicon  for  the  urine, 
bones,  and  hair;  sodium,  potassium,  ammonium, 
in  combination  with  chlorine,  for  all  the  fluids  as 
well  as  solids  of  the  body  ;  calcium  for  the  earthy 
salts ;  magnesium  for  the  muscles ;  and  iron  for 
the  blood. 

The  interior  life  of  nature  is  ever  working  out- 
ward through  all  these  elements  ;  so  in  the  embryo 
we  see  first  what  in  the  future  is  to  do  the  work 
of  man,  as  the  first  visible  formation,  viz.,  the 
brain  and  spinal  marrow.  After  the  soul-prin- 
ciple has  collected  the  elements  with  which  to 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  17 

form  these  (and  we  can  see  this  in  all  life),  we 
find  that  it  still  goes  on,  like  Earth,  to  form  now 
the  grosser  parts  of  its  temple.  Dr.  Hollick  calls 
the  principle  which  it  first  uses  to  woik  with  "a 
species  of  attraction  ;"  but  he,  after  a  time,  loses 
sight  of  this,  and  is  lost  in  wonder  as  he  tries  to  find 
some  philosophical  reason  for  its  continued  devel- 
opment. To  us  it  seems  that  wonder  may  very 
easily  be  turned  to  a  delightful  knowledge.  If  we 
still  continue  to  trace  nature  here,  we  are  told 
(and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  it  true,  for 
the  thought  brings  its  own  conviction  of  truth) 
that  Nature  uses  only  the  same  great  laws 
through  ah1  her  physical  growths,  "that  she 
knows  no  great,  no  small."  Why  should  we  not 
feel  this  a  truth?  We  already  see  the  same 
chemical  elements  combined  with  /MS  form  as 
hers.  Chemical  and  electrical  laws  govern  her 
growth  :  they  must  govern  the  growth  of  this,  her 
child.  Then,  as  they  control  and  collect  matter 
from  the  boundless  realm  of  elements  for  her,  so 
likewise  do  they  for  him  ;  and,  as  they  control  all 
her  actions  immediately,  so  do  they  his.  This, 
then,  accounts  for  his  onward  progress  in  this 
stage  of  life.  Chemistry  controls  the  combining 
of  the  elements  transmitted  through  the  mother's 
tissues  to  the  uterus;  and  the  soul-germ  thiough 
these  refined  electrical  laws  places  them  where  they 
belong,  and  so  builds  its  own  machine,  or,  rather, 
earthly  home. 

2 


18  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

After  building  the  framework,  like  a  perfect 
mechanic  as  it  is,  it  proceeds  to  develop  other 
parts;  and  here  again  we  note,  in  almost  every 
instance,  the  perfect  imitation  of  the  life-course  of 
mother  Earth.  It  repeats  the  same  experiments 
that  she  has  tried,  and  adds  one  new  feature  after 
another ;  the  whole  occupying  some  nine  months 
of  time,  instead  of  ages  upon  ages. 

After  she  has  so  refined  the  elements  that  the 
soul-life  can  express  itself  in  human  form,  her 
labors  seem  easier,  but  still  grand  and  beautiful ! 

How  foolish  the  thought  to  estimate  all  below 
man  as  Nature's  great  work,  manifesting  the  con- 
trolling influence  of  her  laws,  and  then  admitting 
him  to  be  her  last  grand  achievement,  the  epitome 
of  all  the  rest,  to  profess  to  see  reasons  why  from 
the  first  he  should  be  exempt  from  these  laws. 
The  thought  breathes  neither  of  reason  nor  philo- 
sophy, but  of  confusion  —  chaos  of  mind. 

True  it  is,  that  man  is  above  all,  because  he 
possesses  mind,  the  avenue  of  his  soul-life,  as  a 
crown  above  all  other  life  existences :  yet  that 
alone  can  come  under  different  laws';  he  is  still 
acted  upon  by  the  same  physical  laws.  At  the 
ninth  month  we  find  him  physiologically  fitted  for 
a  more  active  life  ;  and  even  then  we  see  a  beauti- 
ful work.  His  life  goes  on  by  slow  progression  to 
manhood;  and  he  stands  before  us  a  physical 
framework  of  some  two  hundred  and  eleven  bones, 
covered  by  some  five  hundred  muscles,  containing 


A  MANUAL  FOB   STUDENTS.  19 

many  organs  of  wonderful  use  and  beauty,  all  the 
dwelling-place  of  this  interior  life.  Religionists 
have  told  us  for  centuries  of  this  life,  and  that  it 
controls  all  the  physical  parts  of  man,  but  how  or 
why  they  have  failed  to  inform  us  ;  and  physiolo- 
gists seem  to  feel  it  beyond  their  province  to 
mention  the  fact  that  there  is  a  life  within.  They 
only  go  to  work  to  try  and  explain  the  physical^ 
forgetting  that  in  every  act  they  must  make  use  of 
this  life,  and  that  to  separate  the  one  from  the 
other  materially,  brings  death  or  dissolution  ;  and 
that  the  same  law  holds  good  as  they  deal  with  it 
mentally.  They  forget  that  the  great  facts  with 
which  they  deal  are  but  the  real  outgrowths  of 
this  interior  life  ;  and  it  leaves  them  sadly  behind 
the  times,  for  to  them  many  physiological  phe- 
nomena are  unaccountable,  mysterious,  and  won- 
derful. We  are  very  glad  to  know  that  under  this 
framework,  or  within  it,  are  the  brain,  the  eye  with 
its  nerves,  the  ear,  the  mouth,  the  lungs,  the  heart, 
the  stomach,  the  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  intestines, 
and  the  organs  which  distinguish  the  male  from 
the  female ;  all  this  they  tell  us,  explaining  their 
different  functions ;  but  we  want  to  know  more. 
These  stand  as  bare  facts,  unclothed  and  uninhab- 
ited by  the  interior  life  which  makes  MAN  what  he 
is. 

Much  of  this  knowledge  can  be  gained  alono 
from  the  physical  expressions  around  him  ;  but 
there  is  a  deeper  need  —  a  need  for  man  to  know 


20  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

of  the  controlling  power  within  him.  That  this 
need  is  real,  we  shall  try  to  show  as  we  proceed 
After  his  birth  into  the  outer  world,  we  find,  from 
physiological  facts,  that  life  is  still  sustained  from 
all  around  him,  but  not  alone  by  the  physical  act 
of  eating  and  drinking.  His  soul-principle  is 
drawing  in  from  all  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of 
the  earth  about  it,  being  fed  by  the  soul-life  of 
earth.  Now,  the  question  arises,  whence  this  life, 
what  its  object,  and  why  should  we  wish  to  know 
of  it  ?  If  we  again  take  a  look  backward  at  the 
past  ages  of  our  earth's  existence,  we  note  great 
order,  —  everything  done  in  time,  and  all  things 
seeming  to  grow  from  a  life  within  ;  for  chemical 
analysis  shows  us  that  we  can  resolve  many  things 
into  chemical  primates,  and  then  re-organize  them 
again,  but  that  we  can  never  give  the  life-portion, 
or  soul-principle  back  after  we  have  set  it  free  by 
our  analysis.  Again,  in  tracing  this  interior-life 
which  as  before  we  find  in  everything  up  to  man, 
we  see  that  some  formations  have  more  of  it  than 
others.  This  is  a  subject  of  deep  importance,  as  we 
will  now  try  to  show  ;  for  upon  our  understanding 
of  it  depends  much  of  life's  happiness.  Every- 
thing was  made  by  God,  and  man  in  his  own 
image,  says  the  record  of  the  past ;  and  "  into  his 
nostrils  God  breathed  the  breath  of  life."  Now, 
we  know,  that  when  this  principle  of  life  is  gone 
from  a  plant  of  any  kind,  chemical  decomposition 
takes  place,  and  the  particles  are  taken  by  some 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  21 

other  existence  to  feed  it.  So  in  the  animal ; 
showing  clearly  a  power  within,  that,  with  our 
physical  science,  we  cannot  grasp. 

When  man  and  woman  come  together  for  the 
purpose  of  becoming  parents,  they  then  draw  from 
the  combined  amount  of  this  soul-life  (which  we 
call  God)  gathered  and  possessed  by  them,  and  it 
is  transmitted  to  the  child.  It  thus  becomes  a 
nucleus,  to  which  is  attracted  from  its  surround- 
ings (as  we  have  endeavored  to  show)  through  the 
mother's  life,  everything  necessary  to  build  up 
the  external  form  of  the  child.  Life  —  all  life  — 
depends  upon  laws  grand  and  beautiful.  Let  ua 
not  forget  this:  the  physical  laws  are  (must  be) 
identical  that  control  all  physical  growth,  since  all 
physical  matter  is  of  the  same  character ;  and  so 
with  the  spiritual  or  soul  of  all  things.  We  can 
see  them  expanded,  as  we  go  from  the  lower  to 
the  higher,  yet  trace  them  the  same. 

To  show  the  importance  of  this  seeming  digres- 
sion,— upon  this  subject  so  little  considered  by 
physiologists,  so  little  cared  for  by  most  people, — 
we  have  noted  in  the  vegetable  world,  that,  by  the 
action  of  certain  laws  which  we  call  physical  alone, 
malformations  are  produced,  and  abortive  attempts 
at  the  perfect  tree  or  flower.  Again,  let  us  take 
other  vegetables  of  the  same  kind,  and  choose  from 
among  them  the  best,  most  refined,  and  those 
whose  interior  life  is  best  expressed  in  the  outer 
growth :  the  result  is  perfection  of  the  tree  or 


a{2  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

plant.  In  the  animal,  the  same  law  holds  good, 
as  all  admit.  Now,  let  us  carry  this  law  to  the 
human,  and  apply  it  by  the  aid  of  human  reason, 
and  what  is  the  result  ? — man  harmonious,  having 
less  of  disease,  more  of  manhood,  and  a  larger 
development  of  the  God-principle  within.  Think 
of  it  ye  whose  province  it  is  to  heal  the  people  and 
become  teachers.  Eecognizing  this  principle  in 
all  things,  the  parents  will  partake  largely  of  it  in 
their  own  natures,  and  will  take  larger  views  of 
life's  import,  and  give  these  thoughts  to  their  chil- 
dren. They  will  implant  in  the  physical  germ  a 
larger  breath  than  others,  who  connect  the  thought 
of  human  propagation  with  physical  pleasure  alone. 
We  have  noted  the  effects  of  unfavorable  condi- 
tions upon  the  physical  growth  of  plants,  trees, 
and  animals,  in  preventing  the  perfect  expression 
of  the  interior  life.  Now  carry  this  thought  up- 
ward to  the  human  kingdom.  The  lower  orders 
seem  to  be  stinted  in  physical  development :  they 
look  meanly  to  the  eye  of  one  whose  aspiration  is 
for  ideal  beauty.  There  is  an  excessive  prepon- 
derance of  the  merely  animal  propensities,  deplor- 
able to  look  upon.  In  many  instances,  there  is 
not  enough  interior  life  to  give  energy  to  these 
overgrown  material  bodies.  This  lack  of  soul-life, 
manifested  in  so  many  forms,  though  sorrowful  to 
consider,  yet  affords  great  lessons  of  usefulness  to 
the  thoughtful,  and  subjects  for  the  study  of  those 
who  now  wholly  ignore  this  soul-philosophy. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  23 


CHAPTEE  III. 

HARMONIOUS  GROWTH   OF  THE    PHYSICAL  AND  SPIRIT- 
UAL NECESSARY  FOR  THE   HEALTH   OF  MAN. 

THE  harmonious  growth  of  both  physical  and 
spiritual  elements  seems  to  be  necessary  for  the 
health  of  man.  Let  us  look  at  this  once  more.  If 
the  interior  or  spiritual  is  the  motive  or  life-power 
of  all  forms  of  existence  (and  this  seems  to  be  self- 
evident  from  the  fact  that  when  this  is  withdrawn 
from  any  form,  decomposition  and  death  are  the 
result),  then  there  are  certain  physical  laws  which 
its  continuance  with  us  render  necessary.  Many 
to-day  realize  that  electrical  laws  control  many  of 
the  phenomena  of  nature ;  but  that  this  law  of 
electricity  is  subject  to  many  modifications,  we 
who  understand  aught  of  its  mechanical  use  can- 
not doubt ;  and  if  we  reason  naturally,  unre- 
strainedly, we  shall  feel  that  it  really  is  the  modifi- 
cation of  some  electrical  law  which  the  soul  within 
uses  for  its  expressive  growth  without. 

We  plant  the  seed  in  the  mold.  The  active  life 
within  acts  upon  the  electrical  moisture  drawn,  or 
negatively  absorbed  within  it  from  the  mold :  soon 
it  becomes  so  charged  with  this  moisture,  that  its 


24  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

life-principle  becomes  positive  to  the  properties 
around  it;  and  it  starts  outward  and  upward,  re- 
pelled by  similar  positive  conditions.  At  the  same 
time  it  becomes  polarized  at  the  germ-centre  ;  and 
then  start  the  roots,  which  are  positive  to  the  mold, 
and  repelled  by  the  upper  life.  Thus  harmoniously 
is  one  drawn  by  the  earth,  and  the  other  part  by 
the  air.  So  we  traced  somewhat  the  modification 
of  this  law  in  the  growth  of  the  embryo.  Now,  we 
ask,  does  not  this  same  law,  expressing  this  same 
life-principle,  sustain  the  plant?  If  not,  what 
does  ?  If  blind  chance  alone  feeds  it,  why  does  it 
not  make  some  mistake?  Soul-life,  controlling 
the  electrical  law  peculiar  to  its  formation,  attracts 
the  right  properties  always  at  the  proper  time, 
and  to  the  right  place.  Physiologists  tell  us  of 
the  elective  powers  possessed  by  the  human 
system  ;  but  they  scorn  the  idea  that  electrical  law 
controls  the  organs  within  the  human  body :  but 
let  us  see.  They  inform  us  that  the  food  we  eat, 
after  being  incorporated  with  the  saliva  of  the 
mouth,  and  passing  to  the  stomach,  undergoes 
chemical  changes ;  and  that  after  passing  to  the 
duodenum,  or  second  stomach,  it  is  acted  upon  by 
bile  from  the  liver,  as  in  the  first  by  the  gastric 
juice.  It  is  then  taken  to  that  portion  of  the 
intestines  where  the  lacteals  convey  it  to  the 
thoracic  duct,  whence  it  is  carried  to  the  heart  as 
impure  blood.  After  being  passed  through  the 
heart  to  the  lungs,  and  acted  upon  by  the  atmos- 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  25 

f 

phere,  it  is  changed  to  bright  arterial  blood,  and 
carried  to  every  part  of  the  system.  When  pure, 
the  elective  qualities  of  the  different  organs  enable 
them  to  select  such  chemical  qualities  as  they  need 
for  their  sustenance,  conveying  away  at  the  same 
time  those  elements  which  they  no  longer  need. 
Now,  why  admit  that  chemistry  has  aught  to  do 
with  us?  Simply  because  the  fact  is  becoming 
too  self-evident  to  be  longer  denied.  We  very 
well  know  that  every  chemical  analysis  exhibits 
electrical  laws ;  how,  then,  can  we  separate  the 
action  of  one  law  from  the  other  ?  All  our  food 
becomes  subject  to  chemical  analysis  as  it  passes 
from  one  department  to  another  ;  and  we  must,  if 
we  stop  to  reason  at  all,  know  that  wherever  these 
chemical  laws  are  acting,  there  electrical  laws  are 
also  acting  in  unison ;  and  we  think,  when  the 
matter  is  sufficiently  studied,  it  will  be  found  that 
upon  these  physical  laws  of  chemistry  and  elec- 
tricity, governed  by  the  soul-life,  human  growth 
depends  from  the  first.  But,  says  one,  you  would 
not  convey  the  idea  that  our  bodies  are  subjected 
to  the  same  element  that  is  so  fearful  in  the 
thunder-storm  ?  Why :  we  cannot  make  the  same 
experiments  with  it  that  we  do  with  mechanical 
electricity.  Very  true  :  we  cannot.  But  do  not 
let  us  forget  that  it  is  modified  and  refined  very 
much  ere  it  reaches  us ;  and,  when  we  come  to 
partake  of  it,  it  must  be  fitted  for  our  growth,  and 
changed  to  meet  our  wants,  Roinember  that 


26  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

Nature,  in  her  distribution  of  laws,  knows  no 
great,  no  small ;  and,  again,  that  we  have  not,  with 
all  our  boasted  scientific  knowledge,  yet  fathomed 
the  depths  of  truth,  as  the  constant  development 
of  new  facts  and  phenomena  abundantly  prove. 
If,  then,  we  find  chemical  action  constantly  taking 
place  in  all  the  changes  which  food  undergoes, 
from  a  solid  material  condition  to  its  formation 
into  pure  blood,  we  shall  also  find  electrical  action, 
for  one  ever  accompanies  the  other.  The  philoso- 
phy of  Dr.  Dodds,  concerning  the  circulation,  is 
thus  discovered  to  be  superior  to  any  other  con- 
ceived by  physiologists ;  for  it  comprehends  more 
of  truth,  and  satisfies  the  unprejudiced  human 
reason  better,  than  any  before  presented.  If, 
then,  our  investigation  of  facts  compels  us  to 
admit  the  truth  of  this  philosophy,  we  can  easily 
perceive  the  importance  of  this  knowledge  to  us 
all.  It  enables  us  to  make  that  which  seemed 
mysterious  before,  clear  "  as  the  light  of  day ;" 
and  it  expands  our  thoughts  by  greater  'growth, 
enabling  us  to  people  the  earth  with  more  of  soul- 
life,  and  less  of  the  sensual. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  27 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

MIND,  ITS  INFLUENCE  OYEE  MAN  IN  ALL  HIS  RELATIONS. 

WE  have  considered  man  both  as  a  physical 
being,  and  as  possessing  an  interior  or  soul- 
life,  which  controls  the  physical  organization  by 
electrical  law.  There  seems  also  to  exist  a  con- 
necting link,  or  medium,  between  the  physical  and 
spiritual.  If  this  be  in  any  degree  wanting,  the 
soul-life  fails  to  manifest  itself ;  and  yet  we  cannot 
distinctly  draw  the  line  of  demarcation  between 
this  soul-life  and  the  connecting  element  which  we 
elsewhere  know  by  its  peculiar  manifestations. 
We  refer  to  the  element  of  mind,  which,  through 
the  finer  chemical  laws,  controls  the  brain  of  man. 
It  requires  wonderful,  and  seemingly  almost  mi- 
raculous, powers  to  go  within  ourselves,  passing 
through  the  system  intelligently,  criticising  and 
analyzing  as  we  go  ;  so  many  laws  do  we  discover, 
modifying  and  controlling  each  other. 

We  seem  to  draw  this  element  of  mind  from  the 
great  Fountain  of  all  being.  Its  source  being  Infi- 
nite, we  do  not  as  yet  grasp  it,  but  only  the  phenom- 
ena of  its  workings.  It  is,  however,  by  studying  the 


28  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

operations  of  laws  that  we  are  led  to  investigate 
that  of  which  they  are  really  the  manifestations. 

True  methodical  reasoning  results  in  the  surest 
conviction  of  truth ;  we  will,  therefore,  take  you  back 
once  more  to  the  beginning,  or  as  near  it  as  we  can 
reach.  We  can  discover  Mind,  systematic  in  its 
action,  at  work  from  the  first.  How  truly  it  at- 
tracted, through  all  its  working  laws,  every  atom  to 
its  place,  and  arranged  so  that  every  life-form  filled 
its  sphere  and  performed  its  work !  To  us  it  gave, 
as  the  richest  of  legacies,  some  of  its  own  attri- 
butes ;  and  we  feel  something  of  their  deep  signifi- 
cance and  grandeur.  "When  we  retire  within 
ourselves,  and  begin  this  interior  analysis,  we  may 
learn  of  these  laws  of  formation ;  and,  though  we 
cannot  apply  them  to  the  making  of  worlds,  we 
can  to  the  forming  of  the  soul-life's  temple, — the 
highest  form  of  physical  existence.  We  have 
alluded  to  that  great  law  of  nature  exhibited  in 
every  department  of  life,  viz.,  the  transmission  of  her 
attributes  and  qualities  through  countless  ages  to 
all  her  children ;  not  even  making,  in  great  general 
principles,  an  exception  of  man.  And  we  find,  by 
careful  study,  some  traces  of  these  great  principles 
in  his  nature.  He  imitates  her  almost  precisely, 
giving  through  her  laws  his  gifts  to  his  offspring. 
To  present  what  we  desire  in  regard  to  this 
element  of  mind,  we  will  commence  by  showing 
something  of  its  native  power  over  the  laws  by 
which  all  below  it  are  governed. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  29 

From  the  act  of  copulation  by  the  parents,  tho 
minds  of  both  exert  over  the  new  being  a  power  by 
them  scarcely  dreamed  of, — indirectly  by  the  father 
through  the  mother-,  and  the  mother  through  every 
tissue  and  nerve  of  her  being.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact,  that  a  strong  desire  of  the  mother  for  certain 
articles  of  diet,  if  ungratified,  will  produce  the  strong- 
est love  in  the  child  for  the  same.  Feelings  of 
intense  love  or  hatred  for  persons  will  produce  the 
same  marked  feelings  in  the  child.  The  mother's 
whole  life  during  the  period  of  gestation,  whether 
she  will  or  not,  is  devoted  to  the  forming  of  her 
little  one :  every  thought,  every  act,  bearing  life  to 
it,  through  her  quickening  being,  and  in  its  after 
life  she  may  trace  her  own  during  the  nine  months 
she  bore  it.  Mothers,  does  this  lesson  teach  you 
aught?  Does  it  not  suggest  to  you  the  thought 
that  you  should  become  adepts  in  every  science, 
that  you  may  scientifically  labor  for  the  physical 
and  mental  organization  of  your  child,  thus  to 
prepare  a  fitting  home  for  the  soul  that  you  have 
called  from  all  soul-life  to  inhabit  it  ?  After  birth, 
mind  loses  none  of  its  powers  over  the  physical 
man.  Each  thought  of  the  father  and  mother  will 
long  give  color  to  his  acts :  and,  as  his  physical 
life  seems  to  have  been  the  last  creation  or  out- 
growth of  external  nature,  so  now  his  individual 
life  is  slowly  formed,  being  connected  with  all  other 
expressions  of  the  same  element,  and  still  depend- 
ing on  all  for  sustenance.  How  intense  the  action 


30  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

of  tliis  individual  life  in  childhood  and  youth,  tak- 
ing all  the  vital  force  of  the  system  for  its  growth ! 
It  sometimes  produces  fevers  and  diseases,  many 
and  peculiar  to  children  (the  seeds  of  which  were 
sown  by  the  action  of  the  parents  before  its  birth), 
sometimes  culminating  in  the  dissolution  of  soul 
and  body  ;  all  because  these  laws  of  mind  are  not 
understood. 

Few  ever  think  of  these  things  as  bearing  at  all 
upon  the  welfare  of  the  race ;  but  still  we  trace  the 
influence  through  all  man's  life,  every  emotion  of  the 
mind  using  its  power  over  the  bone  and  muscle  of 
the  physical.  "Why  should  they  not  ?  The  intel- 
ligence of  the  great  soul  of  all  things  has  left  its 
impress  upon  all ;  and  its  wisdom  has  shown  that 
the  knowledge  we  possess,  and  the  attributes 
given  us,  are  given  as  a  power  to  be  used.  How 
plainly  we  note  in  the  mind  of  our  patient  the 
symptoms  which  must  govern  us  in  our  treatment 
for  the  day !  Sometimes  the  dull  stupidity  must  be 
stirred  up  into  life ;  and  again  the  extreme  nervous 
condition  soothed  to  rest  and  quietude ;  then,  again, 
despondency  be  made  to  give  place  to  lively  joy 
and  hope  :  all  these  conditions  of  mind  acting  for 
the  patient's  benefit  or  detriment,  because  the 
soul-life  within  cannot  act  harmoniously  through 
inharmonious  conditions. 

The  very  fact  that  people  do  not  understand 
these  laws  of  mind,  accounts  for  their  remaining  -in 
these  conditions. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  31 

That  these  thoughts  and  principles  should  be 
interesting  to  the  masses  is  beyond  dispute ;  but 
that  they  pay  little  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
this  element  as  an  avenue  for  the  expression  of  the 
soul — the  "  image  of  God  " — is  also  true.  If  each 
individual  was  to  try  to  develop  the  physical 
body,  by  giving  due  attention  to  every  part  of  the 
organization,  the  result  would  soon  be  decrease  of 
disease  in  every  form.  For,  if  the  physical  system 
be  in  any  of  its  parts  inharmoniously  put  together, 
the  result  will  be  a  repetition  in  the  expressions  of 
the  spirit  of  the  malformation  existing  in  the  body. 
It  will  be  one-sided,  and  produce  consequently 
unhappiness. 

Now,  if  the  power  of  mind  over  these  physical 
conditions  could  once  be  realized,  and  the  knowl- 
edge become  general  that  by  slow  degrees  much 
of  this  unhappiness  may  be  remedied  by  mental 
effort  and  control,  how  soon  might  true  reform 
commence !  We  may  note  one  prominent  fact  in 
connection  with  this  element  of  mind.  Unless 
some  power  of  soul-life  stirs  it  to  action,  it  remains 
inert.  This  brings  to  view  another  fact,  viz.,  that 
we  possess  power  over  others  to  draw  them  into 
the  consciousness  that  these  mental  powers  are 
lying  dormant  within  them,  and  that  they  only 
need  a  little  of  the  sunlight  of  action  to  start  the 
germs  of  thought  and  soul-growth.  We  must  re- 
member that  these  laws  of  physical  existence  are 
only  outgrowths  of  the  soul  of  the  physical :  con- 


32  MEDICAL  ELEGTEICITY. 

sequently  we  may  trace  in  the  workings  of  the 
physical  laws  some  analogy  to  the  laws  of  mind, 
or  the  soul  that  governs  mind  ;  and  in  that  analy- 
sis we  shall  find  that  the  physical  cannot  exist 
without  this  soul.  How  necessary,  then,  that  we 
attract  to  and  combine  within  ourselves  all  possi- 
ble elements  of  mental  power!  for  we  may  well 
reason,  if  we,  as  parents,  can  so  distinctly  portray 
ourselves  upon  our  children,  without  even  a 
thought  of  what  we  are  doing  —  then,  as  beings 
possessed  of  mind,  the  voluntary  power  which  we 
possess  over  physical  matter  is  illimitable  ;  and, 
as  our  brother's  keeper,  we  have  in  charge  a  talent 
that  we  cannot  in  justice  bury  from  sight.  "We 
are  in  duty  bound  to  make  the  highest  possible 
use  of  it. 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  33 


CHAPTEE    V. 

CONDITIONS  OF  HEALTH  AND  DISEASE. 

MUCH  has  been  said,  and  volumes  written,  upon 
the  subjects  of  health  and  disease ;  and  very 
many  writers  and  thinkers  have  at  last  come  to  the 
conclusion,  that  they  are  mysteries  beyond  our 
comprehension.  But,  in  coming  to  this  conclusion, 
it  seems  to  us  that  the  fact  is  overlooked,  that  our 
being  is  Nature's  ultimate  of  all  her  primates,  and 
that  through  all  her  physical  being  her  laws  are 
the  same,  growing  only  a  little  more  refined  as  the 
elements  of  physical  growth  become  refined.  It 
may  seem  like  a  strange  idea  to  many  that  rocks 
have  soul-life  ;  but,  nevertheless,  we  believe  it  true. 
And  why  ?  because  we  see  a  time  when  this  life- 
element  becomes  disturbed,  and  the  atoms  of  rock- 
nature  crumble  to  dust,  and  the  soul-life  is  taken 
up  by  other  and  higher  forms.  But,  say  the  ma- 
terial scientists  of  the  day,  prove  this  to  us.  Well, 
sirs,  the  very  fact,  that,  in  all  your  chemical  experi- 
ments, you  cannot  endow  your  own  chemical  com- 
pounds with  this  element  of  soul,  should  be  proof 
positive  to  you  that  you  have  not  grasped  its  pow- 
er, and  its  life  you  are  not  wholly  masters  of, 
3 


84:  MEDICAL  ELEOTEICITY. 

Because  your  science  has  not  yet  grasped  and 
analyzed  this  soul-life,  you  should  not  ignore  its 
existence. 

How  unnatural  we  become  in  reasoning  thus! 
how  obscure  the  labyrinthine  path  we  tread !  and 
how  doubly  mysterious  the  laws  of  life  become  to 
us !  But  why  take  us  back  to  the  rock  ?  asks  the 
reader :  what  has  this  to  do  with  our  own  health 
or  disease  ?  Once  more  do  we  wish  to  impress 
upon  you  the  fact,  and  so  we  repeat  the  idea  again, 
that  all  physical  laws  are  the  same.  This  being 
the  fact,  it  gives  us  a  most  philosophical  basis  for 
a  true  theory  of  health  and  disease,  and  a  surp 
method  of  cure.  We  are  not  led  through  a  mazy 
mass  of  theories  to  arrive  only  at  the  conclusion 
that  there  is  no  truth  to  be  found.  But  naturally 
we  reason;  and  the  old  giant  Might  cannot  put 
out  of  the  way  the  new  truth  Right. 

Again,  if  the  exterior  conditions  of  the  germ  of 
tree  or  flower  become  disturbed,  the  plant  grows 
into  a  dwarfed,  crooked,  or  unhealthy  condition  : 
there  is  neither  beauty  nor  symmetry  in  the 
exterior,  and  we  dislike  to  look  upon  it.  Even 
after  the  germ  has  produced  the  plant  in  beauty, 
a  wound  or  sudden  blow  may  leave  a  life-long 
scar,  or  sever  at  once  the  connection  between  its 
soul-life  and  physical  expression ;  and  we  say  the 
tree  or  flower  has  perished.  Now,  we  may  take 
the  very  same  seed,  and  give  the  right  conditions 
of  light,  heat,  air,  and  richness  of  soil,  keep  away 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  35 

from  it  the  insect  that  saps  its  life-blood  and  the 
powers  which  can  in  any  way  harm  or  in j tiro 
it,  and  the  result  is  harmony  and  order.  The 
soul  still  governs  and  forms  its  beauty ;  and,  in- 
stead of  dried  branches  and  dwarfish  fruit,  we 
have  it  teeming  with  life  and  health  in  all  its 
parts.  So  of  the  rock  :  if  no  elements  of  discord 
come  to  its  growth,  it  retains  its  soul-life  com- 
plete ;  and  we  trace  this  law  through  all  forms  of 
matter  up  to  man.  Why  should  man  believe  that 
the  laws  of  physical  life  are  beyond  his  ken,  when 
they  are  so  plainly  written  upon  every  chemical 
primate  of  his  being?  O  foolish  man!  how  little 
of  truth  you  grasp  with  your  mighty  intellect  and 
growing  reason,  because  you  simply  try  to  becomo 
unnatural  I 

We  have  said  that  we  can  trace  these  laws  up  to 
man,  and  we  further  know  that  in  man's  life  on 
earth  they  are  the  same.  It  is  only  necessary  for 
us  to  throw  away  prejudice,  and  look  at  this 
subject  as  rational  beings,  and  we  shall  see  at 
once  the  truth  of  this  proposition. 

We  know,  that  if  unfavorable  conditions,  similar 
to  those  which  we  give  the  tree,  rock,  flower,  or 
animal,  be  given  the  human  mother,  they  will  pro- 
duce similar  results  in  her  offspring.  Idiocy, 
impure  thoughts,  impure  ac£s,  bodily  disease  of 
the  most  loathsome  character,  disorders  of  the 
worst  forms,  are  but  the  results  of  this  one  great 
law,  as  may  be  pi-oven  by  visiting  some  of  th<3 


36  *    MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

denizens  of  the  streets  of  our  great  cities,  whose 
very  names  make  the  pure  shudder.  The  most 
scientific  cannot  deny  this  fact.  Why  is  this? 
"What  does  it  mean  ?  only  that  the  soul-germ,  the 
image  of  the  Father,  has  not  the  conditions  through 
which  to  express  itself.  One  might  almost  say, 
and  no  doubt  many  hope,  it  does  not  exist  at  all 
in  these  conditions.  But  here,  again,  the  great 
Father's  law  is  manifest :  some  little  act  of  these 
poor  of  his  vineyard  will  show  this  soul-life,  this 
interior,  even  here. 

We  cannot  help  the  feeling  of  wounded  self- 
pride  that  some  may  have,  as  the  conviction  of 
this  self-evident  truth  comes  home  to  them,  that 
out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth  they  are  formed.  But 
why  murmur  at  it  ?  why  try  to  discard  the  fact  ? 
Is  not  the  lineage  grand  beyond  all  human  power 
to  give?  Look  at  the  majestic  mountain,  and 
the  giant  rock-crowned  brow  of  yonder  cliff ;  hear 
the  swelling  anthem  of  old  ocean.  Is  it  not  a 
thought  beautiful  in  truth,  that  from  all  these  we 
sprang,  and  that  the  same  grand  anthem  was  our 
cradle-hymn  ages  ago  ?  We  have  only  calmly  to 
seek  our  mother  Nature,  and  listen  to  her  voice,  to 
know  that  all  her  laws  are  beautiful  and  true  ; 
only  to  ask  of  her,  and  she  tells  us,  beyond  the 
fear  of  doubt,  that  health  is  only  the  harmonious 
condition  existing  between  this  soul-life  and  the 
exterior  or  physical.  In  other  words,  health  is 
only  the  manifest  order  of  the  soul  over  the  mag* 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  37 

netic  and  electrical  laws,  by  which  and  through 
which  it  governs  and  sustains  its  relation  with  the 
chemical  elements  which  compose  the  human 
body.  Once  place  within  the  reach  of  these  laws 
an  element  which  they  can  grasp,  and,  if  it  be  not 
chemically  allied  to  those  of  the  human  body,  this 
fact  is  sometimes  proved  to  our  sorrow ;  for  the 
soul-life  must  gradually  leave  this  disorder  to 
seek  for  order  elsewhere  :  hence  we  witness  the 
phenomena  of  death. 

How  sad  to  feel  the  struggle  of  this  interior  life 
for  exterior  expression  in  the  class  before  alluded 
to !  So  great  is  the  disorder  of  the  elements  of 
the  physical,  that  its  language  can  only  be  of  the 
lowest  kind.  Oaths  and  imprecations,  obscene 
phrases  and  acts,  can  be  its  only  mode  of  expres- 
sion ;  for  all  the  magnetic  relations  of  mind  and 
matter,  and  most  of  the  electrical  laws  of  the 
chemical  primates,  are  disturbed.  "Through  this 
very  means  we  might  arrange  society  into  almost 
numberless  grades,  until  we  reach  that  class,  few 
in  number,  where  the  magnetic  relations  are  rightly 
sustained,  and  the  chemical  primates  exist  in  their 
proper  proportions.  There  we  find  harmony  and 
order.  Beautiful  thoughts  flow  from  such  beings 
in  beautiful  language;  no  rough  act  bespeaks 
inharmony  of  any  kind ;  but  to  their  soul-life 
everything  is  in  its  place,  governed  by  its  laws, 
and  its  searchings  after  truth  may  and  will  benefit 
all. 


38  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

In  thus  defining  health,  we  very  readily  perceive 
that  disease  is  its  opposite,  or  that  state  of  the 
chemical  or  electrical  laws  with  which  the  soul 
cannot  harmonize,  consequently  cannot  control, 
disorder  being  the  result. 

That  each  chemical  constituent  of  the  human 
body  should  sustain  a  true  and  harmonious  rela- 
tion with  its  neighbor,  and  that  a  correct  perception 
of  the  electrical  laws  of  these  chemical  constituents 
is  necessary,  are  truths  that  would  seem  to  be 
self-evident  to  all  the  medical  world,  if  they  but 
think  of  and  comprehend  their  own  theories. 
But  how  much  labor  these  thoughts  imply !  how 
necessary  that  the  masses  become  thorough 
chemists, — that  they  know  of  what  they  are  made, 
by  what  sustained,  and  the  laws  that  govern  and 
control  every  part  of  their  mechanical  and  chemi- 
cal composition !  As  it  is,  life  is  a  dull  study,  and 
is  left  by  them  to  a  few,  who,  working  compara- 
tively alone,  having  none  of  the  stimulus  necessary 
to  their  soul-growth,  settle  down  upon  partially- 
discovered  facts  as  whole  truths,  and  therein  make 
mistakes  fatal  to  their  future  progress  as  men  of 
science. 

This  thought  alone  should  give  a  new  impetus 
to  every  student  in  the  great  field  of  thought  and 
science ;  and  they  should  never  allow  themselves 
to  be  content  with  what  their  forefathers  have  dis- 
covered, but  ever  feel  that  truth,  in  all  directions, 
is  as  broad  as  the  universe,  and  as  deep  as  the 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  39 

fountains  of  life  in  the  bosom  of  its  Mater.  That 
we  can  grasp  it  all,  may  seem  impossible  :  yet  it  is 
only  by  constant  growth  that  we  develop  our 
capacities  for  soul-expression.  "But,"  says  one, 
"  what  a  curious  conception  of  health  and  disease  : 
if  it  all  be  true,  what  is  our  best  course  of  action  ? 
Yet  how  can  it  be  true  ?  Old  authors  have  never 
discovered  anything  to  prove  it ;  but  all  their  re- 
searches seem  to  prove  its  falsity."  Stop,  readers, 
and  recall  the  facts  recorded  by  old  authors.  They 
tell  you,  that,  from  the  moment  of  conception,  the 
embryo  human  being  is  composed  of  chemical 
properties ;  that,  from  that  moment,  it  grows  by  a 
species  of  attraction ;  that,  after  birth,  its  food  is 
composed  of  certain  chemical  compounds,  each 
chemical  part  finding  its  fellow  within  the  human 
system,  after  having  undergone  certain  chemical 
transformations  during  the  process  of  digestion  ; 
that,  when  this  process  is  completed,  the  system  then 
selects  its  food  from  the  blood  by  an  elective  agency ; 
that,  if  these  properties  become  disproportionate, 
the  organs  are  disturbed  in  their  functions,  and  also 
that  the  conditions  of  rest  and  labor  act  upon  these 
organs  in  their  agency  of  election ;  that  the  great 
power  of  mind  may  so  act  upon  them  as  to  change 
every  chemical  quality,  producing  a  mass  of  disease 
terminating  in  death ;  and,  finally,  that  there  is  a 
nervo-vital  force  which  seems  to  run  the  whole  ma- 
chinery ;  and,  when  that  ceases  to  act,  the  body  is 
before  us,  and  all  its  parts,  but  has  no  more  power 


40  MEDICAL  EIxECTBICITY. 

to  think,  act,  or  be.  Well,  what  is  the  inference  to 
be  drawn  from  all  this  ?  What  can  a  reasonable 
mind  conclude,  but  that  this  soul-life  does  act 
upon  these  chemical  compounds,  through  electrical 
and  magnetic  laws,  thus  sustaining  us  ;  and  that 
these  laws  are  the  elective  agency,  and  the  species 
of  attraction,  by  which  all  agree  we  weie  made, 
born*  and  still  have  our  being. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  41 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

CURATIVE  AGENTS. 

WE  may  sum  up  the  conditions  of  disease  as 
the  change  of  chemical  qualities,  and  the 
change  of  polarities  of  the  electrical  laws  which 
govern  them ;  these  changes  rendering  the  har- 
monious action  of  body  and  soul  impossible.  The 
means  of  cure,  then,  must  be  based  upon  these 
two  facts  ;  and  it  leads  us — where  ?  Away  into 
the  fields  of  nature,  from  whence  we  sprang,  up 
and  through  the  world  of  nature  to  man  :  and  we 
may  not  even  except  him ;  for  in  his  composition 
do  we  behold,  from  the  earliest  days,  that  which 
may  cure  his  brother-man  of  many  diseases.  We 
are  now  led  to  inquire  what  we  must  do,  and  how  ? 
Simply,  we  answer,  change  the  chemical  qualities, 
and  restore  the  equilibrium  of  the  electrical  force, 
and  you  have  cured  the  disease.  But  how  to  do  it 
is  a  question  that  has  puzzled  for  ages  the  wisest 
savans,  because  they  have  not  followed  out  the 
laws  discovered  by  them  in  the  human  organiza- 
tion. They  found,  and  we  find,  all  that  man  is 
composed  of  in  nature  below  him,  manifesting 
there  the  same  inherent  laws.  If  we  think  of  this, 


4:2  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

and  also  of  the  fact  that  with  us  the  material  takes 
a  more  refined  form,  we  have  a  sure  method. 
Chemistry  has  taught  us,  that  if  we  enter  the  pre- 
cincts of  her  domain,  we  may  learn  the  art  of  refin- 
ing in  a  degree  the  elements  which  she  claims  as 
her  own ;  but  that  they  can  only  undergo  certain 
changes,  without  losing  that  soul-relation  which 
they  must  sustain  to  us  in  order  to  do  for  us  what 
we  wish.  That  when  we  reach  that  degree,  then 
the  soul-life  within  each  must  do  the  rest. 

"We  find  everything  teeming  with  Nature's  life 
and  love :  as  students  of  her  school  we  seek,  still 
keeping  in  view  her  laws,  so  far  as  we  can  com- 
prehend them.  The  result  is,  that  we  can  see  a 
means  of  restoring  this  lost  balance  in  her 
mechanical  department,  though  we  may  hardly 
call  the  action  mechanical,  for  it  is  only  one  of 
her  products  producing  chemical  change  upon 
another,  thereby  evolving  again  the  law  of  elec- 
tricity. This  we  find  to  be  a  great  agent  in  the 
cure  of  disease,  when  used  according  to  the  com- 
prehensive law  of  electrical  polarity.  Its  mode  of 
action  we  give  you  in  this  work, — a  great  agent, 
because  it  finds  a  home  within  us,  and  reigns  as 
governing  principle  in  the  material  organism.  In 
fact,  we  have  seen  this  principle  to  be  the  govern- 
ing one  of  all  life  ;  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal, 
selecting  and  placing  the  atoms  that  form  each 
distinct  form  of  life  in  their  appropriate  places. 
As  we  find  the  rocks  and  minerals  to  be  grosser,  to 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  4.3 

express  less  of  soul-life,  so  we  find  that  they 
evolve  a  grosser  electrical  quality ;  and,  to  elimi- 
nate it  for  our  use,  we  must  use  mechanical 
means.  In  using  it  through  these  means,  we  may 
learn  to  know  its  law  as  developed  in  all  else  ;  and 
we  shall  see  also  the  use  of  the  various  remedies, 
keeping  ever  the  thought  with  us  as  expressed  by 
our  philosophy,  that  after  the  mineral  formations 
came  the  vegetable,  and  their  structure  was  one 
step  nearer  the  human.  Consequently  this  fact 
should  teach  us  a  lesson  that  many  discard,  viz., 
never  to  scorn  their  use  as  remedies  for  disease, 
any  more  than  we  would  discard  them  as  articles 
of  food.  "We  should  also  remember,  that  after 
most  perfectly  preparing  and  administering  these 
remedies  as  we  should,  the  various  organs  must 
each  select  from  them  by  elective  affinity  (spoken 
of  by  different  school-authors,  and  which  is  noth- 
ing more  or  less  than  electrical  attraction)  that 
chemical  property  which  contains  the  most  appro- 
priate amount  of  the  magnetic  or  electrical  quality 
for  its  use ;  each  organ  having  to  work  over  and 
transform  the  different  ingredients  into  its  own  life, 
as  with  food.  The  process  is  still,  in  fact,  digestion, 
after  the  stomach  has  performed  its  part.  So  with 
mechanical  electricity  :  when  used,  each  organ 
must  digest  it  through  its  nervous  power,  before 
these  life-elements  can  make  use  of  it.  All  life 
seems  to  be  but  one  great  chemical  laboratory ; 
from  the  lowest  life,  the  object  of  the  refining  pro- 


44  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

cesses,  and  different  analyses,  is  the  development 
of  man.  But,  though  this  is  a  generally  acknowl- 
edged fact  among  many  philosophers,  they  are  nofc 
ready  to  make  practical  use  of  the  knowledge  they 
possess ;  and  many  who  see  the  use,  as  a  remedy, 
of  electricity  obtained  from  minerals  by  mechani- 
cal means,  are  not  at  all  ready  to  look  at  the 
same  life-principle  in  the  other  remedies  used,  con- 
sidering all  alike  as  of  little  importance.  At  least, 
that  is  the  inference  we  draw  from  their  philo- 
sophy and  practice. 

But,  says  the  reader,  you  do  not  except  even 
man,  but  declare  that  he  possesses  in  his  composi- 
tion that  which  will  cure  many  diseases  :  how  are 
we  to  prove  this  ?  You  certainly  would  not  advise 
us  to  turn  cannibals,  and  so  get  at  these  qualities  ? 
No :  far  from  that,  friends.  Man  is  the  epitome 
of  all  else ;  this  fact  alone  is  sufficient  for  the  basis 
of  this  great  philosophy.  He  possesses  thousands 
of  nerves,  through  which  he  sends  from  his  soul-life 
this  power  of  magnetic  life.  Here,  again,  let  me 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact,  that,  besides  being 
the  sum  of  all  the  rest  below  him,  he  is  more  ;  for 
to  this  soul-life  he  adds  the  attribute  of  intelli- 
gence and  progression :  so  that,  besides  drawing 
constantly  from  all  below  him  to  sustain  the  phy- 
sical, he  is  drinking  in  from  all  around  to  sustain 
the  soul.  While,  therefore,  the  soul-power  collects 
from  the  physical  fount  of  nervous  power  the 
electrical  element,  it  at  the  same  time  sends  from 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  45 

its  own  interior  the  magnetic,  and,  combining  the 
two,  transmits  them  rapidly  from  one  point  to 
another  to  perform  its  will,  gathering  from  each 
peculiar  organ  its  peculiar  life-force. 

Now  to  apply  these  facts, — for  every  physiologist 
will  admit  them,  if  not  in  this  exact  form, — if 
health  be  the  manifest  order  of  the  soul  over  the 
physical  in  all  its  departments,  then  the  physical 
must  be  able  to  transmit,  by  the  law  of  order,  the 
soul's  great  chemical  compounds  to  those  whose 
souls  possess  not  this  order.  The  law  is  as  grand 
as  it  is  natural  and  beautiful,  the  popular  world  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding ;  for  it  is  only  the 
outworking  of  man's  power  in  another  form. 

To  apply  this  power,  he  has  only  to  remember 
the  law  of  mechanical  electricity,  and  to  feel  that 
Nature  treats  her  children  all  alike,  and  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  her  laws  she  shows  no  partiality. 

After  the  foregoing,  what  must  be  our  conclu- 
sions ?  First,  that  man,  as  a  being,  had  his  origin 
from  two  sources, — all  forms  of  matter  as  a 
physical  basis,  and  the  great  intelligent  Maker  of 
all,  as  possessing  a  governing  power  over  the 
physical ;  that  he  brings  up  from  all  forms  the 
same  properties,  more  refined,  yet  so  much  like 
them,  that  still  he  must  use  all  forms  to  sustain  his 
physical ;  that  there  are  certain  laws  by  which  ho 
is  enabled  to  do  this, — these  laws  being  the  chem- 
ical laws  of  electricity,  and  its  polar  attraction  and 
repulsion  ;  that,  to  do  this  appropriately,  he  must 


46  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

thoroughly  understand  these  laws,  and  so  .enable 
the  interior  life,  the  intelligent  part  of  him,  to  con- 
trol the  physical  harmoniously  and  with  order, 
thereby  maintaining  the  physical  in  perfect  health. 
That  disease  is  only  a  change  in  these  chemical 
atoms  and  their  polar  relation ;  that,  to  restore 
these  atoms  to  their  proper  and  normal  condition, 
we  must  make  use  of  all  the  philosophy  of  chemis- 
try we  possess :  first,  because-  that  is  the  most 
natural  mode  of  reasoning  ;  and,  secondly,  because 
only  by  being  natural,  can  we  be  cured.  That  we 
find  remedies  in  all  Nature  ;  and  we  have  only  to 
be  true  to  her  teachings,  and  we  shall  find  that  we 
can  and  do  from  her  gain  all  the  power  to  restore 
health. 

And  now,  if  we  have  given  our  readers  a  part  of 
what  we  conceive  to  be  the  truth,  and  as  such  they 
can  accept  it,  we  are  gratified.  If  not,  then  we  ask 
them  again  to  look  at  the  philosophy  of  life,  seek- 
ing for  truth  still  from  Nature,  and  then  proceed 
with  us  to  the  chapter  on  the  mechanical  and  other 
means  of  treating  disease  by  electro-magnetism, 
electricity,  &c. ;  learning  from  that  the  law  of  all 
remedies,  as  we  learn  the  prophecy  of  all  life  from 
the  mineral. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  47 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

PHILOSOPHY   OF  TREATING  DISEASE. 

WE  lay  it  down  as  a  fundamental  principle,  that 
there  are  truly  only  two  phases  of  diseased 
conditions,  which,  for  the  sake  of  being  properly 
understood,  we  shall  call  Positive,  or  Hypersthenic, 
and  Negative,  or  Anesthenic.  Under  the  positive, 
we  include  all  such  as  are  attended  with  inflamma- 
tion, congestion,  soreness,  acute  pain,  bruises, 
fevers,  sprains,  extraneous  growths,  expanded 
muscles,  and  swellings  of  all  kinds. 

Under  the  negative,  are  included  paralysis,  local 
or  general  debility,  contracted  muscles,  nervous 
prostration,  coldness  of  the  extremities,  torpid 
liver,  and  inaction  in  any  part  of  the  system,  with 
atrophy,  or  tendency  to  decomposition,  local  or 
general. 

Corresponding  to  the  above  classification  of  dis- 
eases, we  have  the  positive  and  negative  poles  in  our 
electro-magnetic  and  electrical  machines  and  gal- 
vanic battery.  We  have  discovered,  that,  wherever 
we  place  the  positive  electrode,  or  pole,  it  decreases 
the  electrical  action  in  the  part ;  and,  wherever  we 
apply  the  negative  electrode,  it  increases  the 


48  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

electrical  action  ;  and  that  just  half  way  between 
the  electrodes  the  current  is  neutral,  whilst  at  the 
two  extremes  we  have  the  greatest  positive  and 
negative  action  :  or,  in  other  words,  one-half  the 
distance  is  positive,  the  other  negative.  Hence, 
by  understanding  how  to  direct  the  current,  we  can 
increase  or  diminish  the  electrical  action  in  any 
part  at  pleasure ;  and,  as  all  diseases  exist  by 
virtue  of  an  unbalanced  condition  of  the  electro- 
vital  force  or  currents  in  our  system,  by  restoring 
an  equilibrium,  we  lessen,  remove,  or  cure,  the  dis- 
ease. 

We  have  discovered,  also,  that  the  positive 
current  is  alkaline  and  hot,  while  the  negative  is 
acid  and  cold ;  that,  where  the  positive  enters,  it 
produces  a  cooling  effect,  which  corresponds  to  the 
acid  condition,  while  the  negative  produces  warmth, 
or  the  alkaline  condition. 

As  all  substances  can  be  classified  under  one  or 
the  other  of  these  heads,  we  see  the  philosophy  of 
applying  the  electrical  element,  both  for  the  resto- 
ration of  the  lost  equilibrium,  and  also  for  the 
production  of  those  chemical  changes  necessary  to 
restore  the  different  parts  and  organs  to  their  nor- 
mal or  healthy  conditions. 

Again,  we  have  discovered  that  the  course  of  the 
current  is  always  from  the  positive  to  the  negative ; 
hence  we  say  the  negative  attracts  the  positive ; 
and  that  the  negative  aggregates,  or  gathers,  while 
the  positive  segregates,  or  diffuses.  Therefore,  if 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  49 

we  desire  to  reduce  glandular  or  other  enlarge- 
ments, we  apply  the  positive  electrode  to  the  part. 
It  will  be  evident,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
where  we  apply  the  positive  electrode  the  current 
goes  in,  and  where  we  apply  the  negative,  the 
current  comes^  out :  hence  we  say  all  positive 
currents  are  inward,  and  all  negative  currents  are 
outwa/rd. 

Admitting  that  the  nervous  fluid  is  a  modified 
form  of  the  electric  fluid,  which  undergoes  in  the 
brain  and  great  nerve-centres  that  change  which 
best  fits  it  to  become  the  agent  of  the  mind,  we  see 
how  it  really  forms  the  connecting  link  between 
the  soul  and  all  its  organs  and  functions  of  life ; 
how  it  becomes  the  life-force  of  the  animal 
economy,  and  hence  must  permeate  every  part  of 
the  organism.  It  has,  for  its  great  highway  and 
fountain,  the  brain,  spinal  cord,  and  threefold  sys- 
tem of  conductors,  viz.,  the  nerves  of  sensation, 
and  nerves  of  voluntary  and  involuntary  motion. 
This  vital  or  life  fluid  is  subject  to  the  laws  of 
electrical  polarity,  both  in  its  general  circulation 
and  in  every  organ  of  the  body.  When  in  health, 
the  positive  and  negative  poles  balance  each  other  : 
but  any  agency  which  changes  this  relation  may 
be  the  cause  of  disease  ;  causing  that  to  be  abnor- 
mally positive  which  should  be  negative,  and  that 
which  should  be  positive  to  be  abnormally  negative. 
We  correct  this  abnormal  polarization  by  properly 
applying  the  poles,  thus  curing  the  disease. 


50  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

In  order  to  have  our  currents  produce  the  desired 
effect,  the  circuit  must  be  perfect ;  hence  the  two 
poles  must  inclose  the  body,  or  the  part  to  be 
treated,  between  them  ;  which  then  acts  as  a  con- 
ductor, and  makes  the  circuit  complete. 

Three  things  are  absolutely  necessary  in  the  suc- 
cessful treatment  of  disease,  viz.,  a  correct  diagno- 
sis, a  thorough  and  scientific  knowledge  and 
application  of  the  agent  employed,  and  correct 
habits  on  the  part  of  the  patient.  After  making 
our  diagnosis,  we  must,  in  treating  our  patient,  pay 
especial  regard  to  polarity.  As  was  before  stated, 
when  the  two  electrodes  are  in  contact  with  the 
body,  one-half  the  distance  is  positive,  the  other 
half  negative,  and  the  centre  may  be  said  to  be 
neutral. 

In  treating  inflammatory,  or  positive  conditions, 
we  must  bring  all  those  parts  under  the  influence 
of  the  positive  part  of  the  current ;  for,  if  we  do 
not,  we  shall  fail  in  changing  the  polarity  and 
curing  the  disease.  In  treating  all  inflamed  or 
painful  conditions,  it  favc-rs  the  operation  to  run 
the  current  with  the  nervous  ramifications,  because 
its  effect  is  more  soothing.  Even  in  treating  such 
cases  through  and  through,  it  is  well  to  keep  the 
negative  a  little  below  the  positive. 

In  treating  sub-acute  affections,  we  must  act 
according  to  the  necessities  of  the  case ;  but,  as  a 
general  rule,  it  is  best  to  subdue  the  pain  and  irri- 
tation first,  by  treating  with  the  positive  over  the 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  51 

painful  part,  although  in  some  chronic  cases  it 
may,  strictly  speaking,  be  a  negative  disease.  As 
all  negative  diseases  require  increased  action,  the 
parts  affected  must  be  brought  under  the  influence 
of  the  negative  end  of  the  current ;  and  in  many 
cases  of  wasting,  or  atrophy,  and  paralysis,  we 
often  allow  the  current  to  run  against  the  nervous 
ramifications,  as  it  is  more  warming  and  tonic  in 
its  effects.  But,  in  this  case,  we  must  be  governed 
by  the  class  of  nerves  which  are  paralyzed.  If  it 
is  the  nerves  of  sensation,  we  must  run  the  current 
from  the  spine  to  the  extremities  ;  but,  if  the 
nerves  of  voluntary  motion,  we  must  run  the  cur- 
rent from  the  extremities  to  the  spine,  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  -current  always  runs/rom  the  posi- 
tive to  the  negative,  and  takes  the  most  direct 
course  and  the  best  conductors.  The  dry  skin  is 
a  bad  conductor  :  hence  we  moisten  it  with  our 
moist  sponge  electrodes,  water  being  a  better  con- 
ductor. But  fresh  water  is  not  so  good  a  con- 
ductor as  salt  water  :  hence  the  fluids  of  the  body 
that  are  impregnated  with  salt  are  good  conductors. 
Some  writers  claim  that  the  muscles  are  better 
conductors  than  the  nerves  :  but,  since  no  part  of 
the  muscles  are  devoid  of  nerves,  it  is  hard  to 
determine  to  a  certainty  concerning  the  living  body. 
We  have  more  reasons  for  believing  that  the  nerves 
are  the  true  conductors,  both  of  the  electrical  and 
every  other  system  of  circulation.  Every  kind  of 
action, — chemical,  mental,  and  mechanical, — is, 


52  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

philosophically  speaking,  electrical  in  its  nature ; 
;  and  we  are  warranted  in  affirming  that  every  atom, 
cell,  and  organ  has  its  positive  and  negative 
polarities,  its  alkalies  and  its  acids,  and  is  in  itself 
a  miniature  galvanic  battery.  This  is  equally  true 
of  every  organ  of  the  mind.  It  is  also  true  of  the 
body  as  a  whole,  for  we  know  that  in  health  the 
i  mucous  membrane  is  alkaline,  while  the  skin  is 
acid.  This  accounts  for  the  fact,  that  the  centre  of 
the  body  and  all  the  organs  are  relatively  positive, 
while  the  external,  or  skin,  is  negative.  It  also  ac- 
counts for  the  very  important  fact,  that  all  the 
electro-vital  currents,  in  their  normal  state,  flow 
from  the  centre  to  the  periphery ;  thus  illustrating 
the  same  universal  electrical  law,  that  the  current 
always  flows  from  the  positive  to  the  negative. 

Another   important    principle  we   should  here 
consider.     The  skin  is  the  greatest  eliminator  of 
/  the  body ;  and  the  currents  which  constantly  flow 
/    to  the  surface  throw  out,  through  its  untold  mil- 
1     lions  of  pores,  those  elements,  which,  if  retained, 
1     would  cause  immediate  disorder,  as  is  evinced  by 
/     taking  a  severe  cold,   the   pores   thus   becoming 
closed,  and  fever  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  result- 
ing.    What  is  now  the  condition  of  the  electrical 
currents?      The    polarities   are   changed,  or  are 
alternating.     If  the  change  is  permanent,  we  have 
constant  burning  heat  on  the  surface ;  which  is 
fever.     The  currents  are  set  inward ;  or,  in  other 
words,  the  surface,  or  external,  has  become  abnor- 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  53 

mally  positive,  while  the  centre,  or  internal,  is 
negative.  The  appetite  fails,  there  is  soreness  all 
over  the  body,  with  languor,  headache,  and  many 
more  unpleasant  symptoms.  Or  there  is  an  inter- 
mittent condition ;  sometimes  the  surface  is  hot, 
sometimes  cold.  Nature  is  struggling  hard  for  the 
ascendency,  but  the  pores  are  too  firmly  sealed,  and 
the  power  of  reaction  is  growing  less  and  less.  In 
this  critical  state  of  affairs,  what  is  to  be  done? 
Oh  !  send  for  the  doctor.  And  what  does  he  do  ? 
The  lancet,  jalap,  and  calomel,  used  to  tell  the 
whole  story ;  but,  thanks  to  progress  in  medical 
science,  even  our  drug-practice  is  now  more 
humane  and  more  in  accordance  with  good  sense. 
It  has  at  last  been  discovered  that  the  system 
needs  an  addition  to  its  vital  force,  rather  than  to 
have  it  still  further  reduced,  and  thus  made  a 
more  easy  prey  to  the  destroyer. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  how  can  electricity  change 
this  abnormal  to  a  normal  condition?  We  say, 
simply  by  chaoging  the  polarity,  and  adding  to 
the  vital  force,  thus  co-operating  with  the  vis  vitce, 
or  life-force,  of  the  organism.  This  we  do  by  seat- 
iDg  the  patient  on  the  positive  electrode,  and  treat- 
ing with  the  negative  all  over  the  body ;  thus  es- 
tablishing the  normal  flow  of  the  currents  from  the 
centre  to  the  periphery.  This  process  opens  the 
pores,  and  aids  the  system  in  throwing  to  the  sur- 
face the  morbid  accumulation,  cooling  the  surface, 
restoring  equilibrium,  and  curing  the  disease. 


54  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

This  is  the  work  of  only  a  few  minutes,  or  at  most 
a  day  or  two ;  for  it  seldom  requires  more  than 
three  seances  to  break  up  a  fever,  especially  if  it  is 
taken  in  the  early  stages.  In  some  cases  (and  gen- 
erally when  practicable),  we  place  the  patient  in  a 
warm  galvanic  bath,  and  apply  the  electrodes  as 
before.  .  Usually  one  treatment  of  this  kind  will  be 
sufficient ;  but  such  patients  can  seldom  come  to 
the  office,  and  so  lose  this  advantage. 

We  said,  a  short  time  ago,  that  all  the  functions 
were  carried  on  by  electrical  action,  even  the  circu- 
lation of  the  blood.  It  is  now  generally  admitted, 
that,  by  the  law  known  as  the  correlation  of  forces, 
all  the  changes  and  motions  in  the  mineral,  vegeta- 
ble, and  animal  kingdom,  and  in  the  universe,  so  far 
as  we  know  of  it,  are  one  in  essential  character  ; 
that  all  have  their  origin  in  the  law  of  attraction 
and  repulsion,  aggregation  and  segregation,  centri- 
fugal and  centripetal,  chemical  and  electrical,  posi- 
tive and  negative  conditions  and  relations  of  the 
different  elements,  each  being  convertible  into  the 
others  ;  and,  in  the  last  analysis,  we  are  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  electricity,  in  the  hands  of  De- 
ity, is  the  cause  of  it  all.  Let  us  now  see  how  the 
blood  is  made  and  circulated.  First  the  food  is 
masticated  in  the  mouth,  and  mixed  with  saliva, 
which  is  alkaline :  then  it  is  passed  into  the 
stomach  ;  and  the  gastric  juice,  which  is  a  power- 
ful acid,  quickly  combines  with  the  alkali  in  the 
food,  and  resolves  it  into  a  pulpy  mass.  It  is 


A  MANUAL    FOR   STUDENTS.  55 

thence  passed  to  the  duodenum,  where  it  is  mixed 
with  the  bile  from  the  liver,  which  produces 
another  chemical  change,  it  being  alkaline.  The 
pancreas  also  contribute  a  fluid,  changing  it  still 
further.  It  then  passes  through  the  small  intes- 
tines, and  the  nutritious  part  is  absorbed  by  the  lac- 
teals,  and  conveyed  through  the  mesenteric  glands 
into  the  thoracic  duct ;  thence  to  the  left  sub- 
clavian  vein,  mixing  with  the  venous  blood ;  thence 
to  the  heart  and  lungs,  where  it  all  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  in  the  lungs,  and  is 
changed  from  a  dark  purple  to  a  bright  red  color. 
It  is  thence  conveyed  to  the  heart ;  and  from 
thence,  by  the  great  aorta  and  arteries,  to  the  re- 
motest parts  of  the  system  ;  and  is  then  conveyed 
from  the  arterial  capillaries  to  those  of  the  veins ; 
thence  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  again  to  be  renewed 
and  repeat  its  course  through  the  system. 

Now,  what  is  the  nature  of  this  action  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking  ?  You  may  say  it  is  both 
mechanical  and  chemical,  and  we  may  add  electri- 
cal and  magnetic  also ;  and  we  claim,  that,  so  far 
as  the  circulation  of  the  blood  is  concerned,  it  is 
greatly  electrical,  as  we  will  now  proceed  to  show. 
In  the  first  place,  we  will  again  state  the  fact,  that 
two  positives  and  two  negatives  equally  repel  each 
other.  The  whole  organism  is  operated  by  means 
of  the  nervo-vital  fluid  under  the  control  of  the  soul- 
life, — the  blood  being  the  source  of  this  subtle 
fluid,  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  supplying  the 


56  MEDICAL  ELEOTEICITY. 

blood.  The  blood,  being  oxygenized  and  electri- 
fied, becomes  electrically  positive ;  and  the  lungs 
being  already  in  that  positive  condition,  there  is  a 
mutual  repulsion :  and,  since  the  lungs  cannot 
leave  the  chest,  the  positive  blood  must,  especially 
as  the  lungs  are  being  constantly  supplied  by  neg- 
ative venous  blood,  between  which  and  the  posi- 
tive lungs  there  is  a  mutual  attraction.  The  blood 
thus  repelled  from  the  lungs  returns  to  the  heart 
and  from  thence  is  attracted  into  the  great  aorta ; 
from  thence  through  the  whole  of  the  arteries  ;  the 
most  distant  being  most  negative,  attracts  the 
blood  onward  to  the  extremities  of  the  capillaries ; 
and  the  venous  capillaries  being  still  more  negative 
all  the  way  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  the  blood  is  at- 
tracted through  its  whole  course  on  electrical 
principles.  Now,  as  nerves  accompany  the  arte- 
ries and  not  the  veins,  we  can  see  clearly  that  these 
are  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  electrical  ele- 
ment from  the  blood,  and  conveying  it  to  the  cere- 
bellum or  small  brain,  to  be  used  by  the  mind  and 
involuntary  nerves  to  perform  all  the  functions 
of  the  body. 

Again,  as  the  positive  blood,  laden  with  all  the 
rich  elements  of  nutrition,  courses  through  the 
arteries,  each  organ  and  part  attracts  to  itself 
what  is  needful  for  its  support ;  at  the  same  time, 
the  waste  material,  or  broken-down  cells,  is 
attracted  into  the  current,  and,  according  to  its 
kind,  eliminated  by  the  different  depurating 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  57 

organs  of  the  body,  such  as  the  kidneys,  liver,  and 
lungs.  Further :  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that 
everything  taken  into  the  system  as  medicine,  if  it 
does  any  good,  does  it  by  virtue  of  the  electrical 
principle  of  its  action,  either  by  being  attracted  to 
diseased  parts,  to  build  up  and  renovate,  neutralize 
morbid  elements,  or  aid  the  organs  in  repelling 
morbid  elements  from  the  system. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  no  wonder  that  so 
much  is  claimed  for  this  most  potent  and  all- 
pervading  element  as  a  therapeutic  agent  in  every 
(department  of  the  healing  art.  We  see,  also,  how 
it  becomes  a  power,  in  healthy  organisms,  for  the 
cure  of  many  diseases,  and  that  in  a  very  limited 
time,  compared  with  drug  medication  alone. 
Hence  we  say  that  all  the  good  produced  by  hand 
manipulations,  or  human  magnetism,  is  in  accor- 
dance with  this  universal  law  of  electrical  action  ; 
and  is  all  the  more  potent  as  the  will  of  the 
operator  and  the  faith  and  will  of  the  patient  act 
in  harmony. 

Since  all  diseased  conditions  originate  in  the 
disturbance  of  these  subtle  elements  of  our  nature, 
a  corresponding  element  is  needed  to  restore  the 
equilibrium ;  and  as  human  magnetism  and  elec- 
tricity is  the  nearest  approximation  to  the  mind- 
element,  or  nervo-vital  fluid,  we  see  why  it  is  the 
most  reliable  and  potent,  when  wisely  and  scien- 
tifically applied,  for  the  cure  of  disease.  We  also 
see  how,  in  certain  mental  and  nervous  conditions. 


58  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

a  word,  a  look,  or  a  touch,  from  the  healer,  pro- 
duces wonderful  changes  in  the  all-believing 
subject.  This,  too,  is  in  perfect  harmony  with 
law ;  and  it  makes  no  difference  whether  these 
things  are  done  by  men  or  angels,  or  both  com- 
bined :  law,  universal  and  unchanging,  is  the 
foundation  of  it  all.  Understanding  this,  and  the 
adaptability  of  the  element  we  use  to  diseased 
conditions,  the  process  of  healing  is  simple,  easy, 
and  natural,  as  we  will  try  to  show  in  the  follow- 
ing pages. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  we  have  endeavored  to 
show  that  this  powerful  agent  exists  in  every- 
thing, but  acts  with  more  potency  in  some 
elements  than  others.  In  the  constant  changes 
that  are  everywhere  occurring,  we  perceive  a 
gradually  refining  process,  elements  serving  higher 
and  higher  uses,  until  they  manifest  their  highest 
potency  in  man ;  for  what  can  he  not  accomplish, 
under  the  direction  of  his  rapidly  expanding  mind 
and  interior  soul-life  ?  No  wonder  that  he  finds 
within  himself  the  most  efficient  element  for 
healing  his  diseases,  just  as  his  mother  Nature  has 
a  self-adjusting  power  within  herself, — as  witness 
Hie  earthquake,  thunder-storm,  and  tornado.  The 
l(  soul  of  things,"  the  soul  of  man,  and  the  being 
of  God,  are  so  closely  allied  and  interblended, 
that  we  know  not  where  to  draw  the  line  between 
them.  Man  is  a  microcosm  of  all  else,  both  spirit 
and  matter,  and  appropriates  from  all  below  and 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  59 

around  him  whatever  is  necessary  to  sustain  this 
relation  of  being.  So  far  as  we  know,  he  is 
capable  of  infinite  progress  :  how  important,  then, 
that  his  mind  should  be  free  and  his  body  healthy, 
so  that  he  may  fully  answer  the  divine  end  of  his 
being,  living  in  harmony,  and  ever  enjoying  and 
promoting  happiness. 


60  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS. 

•• 

Electrical  Instruments  for  Medical  Purposes. 

OF  these  there  are  many,  and  of  various  con- 
structions ;  but  the  assortment  necessary  for 
all  practical  purposes  is  comprised  in  the  "  Fric- 
tion Electrical  Machine,"  Galvanic  Battery,"  and 
"Electro-Magnetic,  or  Faradaic,"  and  "  Magneto- 
Electric  Machines." 

BY  THE  ELECTRICAL  MACHINE,  we  get  a  peculiar 
form  of  electricity  for  medical  purposes,  having 
great  intensity  with  but  small  quantity.  We 
esteem  the  plate  machine,  of  twenty  inches  or 
more,  the  best.  To  operate  this  machine  success- 
fully requires  a  dry  atmosphere,  and  the  machine 
to  be  kept  free  from  dust,  and  everything  kept 
dry  and  clean  about  it.  In  moist  weather,  or 
when  a  storm  is  approaching,  and  the  atmosphere 
is  negative,  a  little  sweet  oil  rubbed  on  the  plate 
is  an  advantage.  Amalgam  powder  of  zinc,  or 
deuto-sulplmret  of  tin,  must  be,  now  and  then, 
applied  to  the  surface  of  the  rubbers.  A  good 
conductor  with  the  moist  earth  is  also  necessary. 
It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  prime  conduc- 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  61 

tor  is  always  positive,  while  the  rubber  is  always 
negative ;  and  the  one  is  never  evolved  without 
the  other.  In  the  Ley  den  jar,  the  inside  is 
positive,  the  outside  negative ;  and,  if  we  wish  the 
negative  charge,  we  must  have  the  prime  conductor 
communicate  with  the  outer  covering  of  the  jar. 
But  the  positive  is  the  one  generally  required  for 
medical  purposes.  In  discharging  the  jar,  always 
bring  the  knob  in  contact  with  the  outer  side  first, 
and  then  with  the  knob  on  the  top  of  the  jar.  In 
charging  the  jar,  the  outer  foil  must  be  in  commu- 
nication with  the  conductor  to  the  earth,  so  as  to 
dissipate  the  negative  electricity  from  the  outside 
of  the  jar,  while  it  is  being  charged  inside  posi- 
tively. By  placing  the  patient  on  an  insulating 
stool,  he  can  be  charged  with  positive  electricity 
while  in  contact  with  the  prime  conductor;  or 
with  negative  electricity  by  contact  with  the 
rubber  of  the  machine.  Where  we  wish  to 
employ  both  electricities  at  once,  we  must  not 
make  either  the  rubber  or  the  prime  conductor 
communicate  with  the  ground,  but  keep  all  well 
insulated.  Having  thus  put  the  machine  in  order, 
we  are  prepared  to  use  it  according  to  the 
instructions  for  treating  diseases  in  the  succeeding 
part  of  this  work. 

THE  GALVANIC    BATTERY. 

This  is  an  arrangement  by  which  we  obtain  the 
primary  current  of  electricity ;  which  is  capable  of 


62  MEDICAL  ELEOTKICITY. 

producing  the  most  extensive  magnetic,  chemical, 
and  calorific  effects.  By  this  arrangement,  we 
get  a  current  of  large  quantity  with  small  intensity. 
This  current,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following 
application  of  it  to  diseased  conditions,  is  a 
wonderful  agent  for  good  in  curing  many  diseases 
that  have  heretofore  baffled  the  skill  of  our  most 
learned  physicians. 

One  battery  is  constructed  as  follows  :  A  glass 
jar,  containing  dilute  sulphuric  acid — one  part  of 
acid  to  ten  of  water ;  in  this  is  a  zinc  cylinder,  and 
within  it  a  porous  cup,  containing  electropion, 
into  which  is  placed  a  bar  of  carbon,  with  a  brass 
clamp  and  copper  wire  attached,  to  connect  it 
with  the  zinc  of  the  next  pair ;  and  so  on  to  all  the 
cups.  In  this  battery,  the  carbon  is  the  positive, 
and  the  zinc  the  negative ;  to  each  of  which 
conducting  wires  are  attached,  by  which  the 
current  may  be  applied  to  any  part  of  the  system. 
When  the  battery  is  not  in  use,  the  cups  must  be 
disconnected  to  prevent  constant  action.  When 
the  two  fluids  become  of  one  color,  and  salt 
rapidly  accumulates  on  the  zinc,  they  need  to  be 
renewed;  but  it  will  generally  run  well  for  a 
month  or  more  without  changing.  Before  the 
zincs  are  used  they  are  to  be  amalgamated  with 
quicksilver,  and  as  often  afterward  as  the  quick- 
silver disappears.  In  order  to  prepare  the  zincs 
for  the  quicksilver,  they  must  be  placed  in  a 
strong  battery  solution  of  sulphuric  acid  and 


A  MANUAL  FOK  STUDENTS.  63 

water,  just  before  applying  the  quicksilver.  In 
renewing  the  battery,  it  is  well  to  place  the  zincs, 
porous  cups,  and  carbons  in  clean  water,  so  as  to 
free  them  from  all  accumulations.  The  current 
will  be  weak  or  strong,  according  to  the  number 
of  cups  used  and  the  freshness  of  the  fluids  in  the 
cups. 

Other  batteries  are  constructed,  which  operate 
on  the  same  principle  as  the  foregoing,  except 
that  by  a  peculiar  arrangement  one  glass  cell  is 
made  to  answer  the  purpose  of  both  the  glass  and 
porous  cells,  and  only  one  fluid-electropion  is 
used.  All  the  cells  are  arranged  in  a  neat  walnut 
case,  and  the  connections  made  in  such  a  manner 
that  by  a  metallic  slide  on  a  tramway  over  the 
cells,  any  number  of  cells  can  be  used  ;  and  be- 
sides by  a  simple  contrivance  all  the  cells  can  be 
elevated  or  lowered  at  pleasure,  so  as  to  take  the 
zincs  and  carbon  entirely  out  of  the  fluid.  This 
battery  is  a  late  improvement,  and  is  portable, 
which  makes  it  very  convenient  both  for  office 
and  out-door  practice.  The  number  of  cells  in 
this  battery  vary  from  twelve  to  sixty. 

TO   MAKE  ELECTEOPION. 

Take  one  gallon  of  warm  water,  to  which  add 
six  pounds  of  bichromate  of  potash.  Dissolve  as 
well  as  possible;  then  add  four  gallons  of  cold 
water,  and  keep  stirring.  Next  add  one  gallon  of 


64  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

sulphuric    acid ;    and,   when    the    bichromate   is 
dissolved,  it  is  ready  for  use. 

If  a  smaller  quantity  is  required-,  make  the 
proportions  accordingly. 

THE   ELECTRO-MAGNETIC   OR  FARADAIC  MACHINE. 

There  are  a  variety  of  machines  constructed  on 
this  principle,  which  consists  of  a  double  helix, 
one  of  coarse,  and  one  of  fine  wire,  and  a  vibrating 
armature  and  magnet.  These  are  the  kind  most 
extensively  used  for  medical  purposes.  They 
have  two  currents,  one  connected  with  the  coarse 
wire  helix,  and  is  called  primary,  the  other 
connected  with  the  fine  wire  helix,  and  is  called 
secondary  or  induced.  Both  currents  can  be  in- 
creased in  intensity  by  means  of  a  metallic  rod  or 
tube,  which  in  some  machines  passes  over,  and  in 
others  into  the  helix.  Some  machines  have  in 
addition,  also  other  arrangements  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  inducing  power  in  these  machines 
is  a  small  battery  arrangement,  which  is  simple 
in  construction,  and  easily  cleaned  and  kept  in 
order. 

Great  improvements  have  been  made  in  all 
electro-therapeutic  appliances  within  a  few  years ; 
and  inasmuch  as  a  descriptive  pamphlet  accom- 
panies each  apparatus,  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter 
into  a  minute  description  of  them  here.  If  sul- 
phuric acid  is  used,  ten  of  water  to  one  of  the 
acid  is  the  proportion.  If  sulphate  of  copper, 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  65 

two  ounces  of  the  sulphate  to  a  quart  of  water  is 
the  proportion. 

The  acid  is  cleaner  and  more  convenient ;  but 
the  sulphate  of  copper  is  less  dangerous  to 
clothing  and  carpets,  etc. 

MAGNETO-ELECTRIC  APPARATUS. 

This  apparatus  for  medical  use  is  arranged  in  a 
neat  box,  and  is  the  only  machine  possessed  by 
many  medical  men.  This  kind  of  electric  current 
is  produced  by  permanent  magnets,  in  connection 
with  a  revolving  armature.  It  is  kept  in  rapid 
motion  by  turning  a  crank,  which  turns  the  arma- 
tures, and  thus*  passing  the  poles  of  the  magnet, 
gives  a  rapid  succession  of  shocks,  making  a 
current  something  like  the  current  of  the  electro- 
magnetic machine.  Its  intensity  depends  upon 
the  size  and  number  of  the  great  magnets ;  upon 
the  size  of  the  wire  wound  around  the  armature ; 
upon  the  exact  nearness  of  the  revolving  armature 
to  the  tips  of  the  poles  of  the  great  magnet; 
upon  the  number  of  its  convolutions,  and  the 
velocity  and  regularity  with  which  the  wheel  is 
turned.  No  fluids  are  used  for  this  machine. 

REMARKS    ON    THE    DIFFERENT     CURRENTS     OF    ELEC- 
TRICITY. 

The  Electrical  Machine  gives  us  that  form  oi 
electricity  which  admits  for  the  most  part  of  in- 
stantaneous discharges.  It  can  scarcely  be  called 

5 


66  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

a  current,  except  as  it  is  being  received  into  the 
system  by  contact  with  the  prime  conductor, 
when  on  the  insulated  stool,  while  the  machine  is 
in  mechanical  operation.  The  moment  that  ceases, 
the  current  stops,  and  the  surrounding  atmosphere 
quickly  restores  an  equilibrium  between  itself  and 
the  patient  so  charged.  If  we  desire  to  charge  a 
patient  positively,  we  place  him  in  contact  with 
the  prime  conductor  ;  and  if  negatively,  in  contact 
with  the  rubber  of  the  machine.  In  either  case, 
sparks  can  be  drawn  from  any  part  of  the  body  or 
clothiDg  when  so  charged.  This  has  often  been 
resorted  to,  with  various  degrees  of  success,  for 
the  cure  of  paralysis,  rheumatism,  tetanus,  cata- 
ract, and  amaurosis,  and  sometimes  with  good 
effect  in  nervous  prostration. 

The  Galvanic  Battery  gives  us  that  form  of 
electricity  which  constitutes  the  direct  current. 
It  is  the  current  we  most  rely  upon  for  decompos- 
ing and  dispersing  morbid  growth,  such  as  tumors, 
nodes,  and  calcareous  deposits  about  the  joints, 
stone  in  the  bladder,  and  biliary  calculi.  It  is 
likewise  our  chief  agent  in  neutralizing  morbid 
elements  in  the  system  by  its  powerful  chemical 
action,  as  also  all  skin  affections,  cancerous, 
syphilitic,  and  scrofulous.  To  reduce  swellings 
and  inflammations,  we  apply  the  positive  electrode 
to  the  part  affected ;  and,  to  increase  action,  we 
apply  the  negative.  All  inflamed  parts  are  elec- 
trically positive  :  and  as  we  know  it  to  be  a 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  67 

universal  law  in  electrical  action,  that  two  positives 
repel  each  other,  and  induce  a  negative;  so, 
by  applying  the  positive  to  the  inflamed  part,  we 
change  the  polarity,  and  restore  an  equilibrium, 
or  aid  Nature  in  restoring  normal  action,  which 
constitutes  health. 

In  all  electric  currents,  there  is  the  positive  and 
the  negative.  The  positive  corresponds  to  the  al- 
kaline and  hot,  and  the  negative  to  the  acid  and 
cool ;  and  all  the  elements  come  under  one  or  the 
other  of  these  conditions. 

The  Electro-magnetic  or  Faradaic  Apparatus 
gives  us  two  currents,  called  the  direct  and  induced. 
The  direct  current  of  this  apparatus  is  as  nearly 
like  the  current  of  the  galvanic  battery  as  possible, 
and  be  subject  to  the  magnet  and  vibrating  ar- 
mature. In  the  absence  of  the  galvanic  battery,  it 
is  a  very  good  substitute. 

The  induced  current  is  obtained  from  the  fine 
wire  helix,  which  is  entirely  insulated  from  the 
other,  or  coarse  wire  helix,  which  gives  us  the 
direct  or  primary  current.  This  current  is  en- 
tirely different  from  the  primary,  as  the  primary 
represents  quantity  with  little  intensity,  while  the 
induced  current  represents  intensity  with  but 
small  quantity. 

The  primary  current  produces  but  slight  sen- 
sation ;  while  the  induced,  or  secondary,  produces 
all  degrees  of  sensation,  from  the  scarcely  percept- 
ible to  the  unbearable.  This  current  is  especially 


68  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

adapted  to  arouse  torpid  organs  to  their  normal 
action,  and  to  relieve  painful  conditions ;  by  its 
positive  and  negative  polarities,  changing  plus  and 
minus  conditions  to  normal  or  healthy  action. 
The  currents  in  the  Kidder  machine  are  regulated 
by  changes  in  the  four  posts,  marked  A,  B,  0,  and 
D,  and  by  a  metallic  cylinder  that  passes  over  the 
helix.  In  other  machines,  by  a  metallic  rod,  or 
bundle  of  soft  iron  wires  that  slide  inside  the  helix, 
and  the  breaking  of  the  current,  or  vibration  of 
the  armature,  by  a  set-screw  and  spiral-point, 
slightly  touching  the  platinum  disc  on  the  arma- 
ture or  vibrating  spring.  The  two  currents  on  Dr. 
Kidder' s  machines  have  each  three  variations,  and 
by  him  are  called  six  currents.  A  B,  A  C,  and 
A  D,  belong  to  the  primary  ;  but  A  B  is  the  most 
powerful  galvanic :  while  B  C,  B  D,  and  C  D,  are 
all  of  the  secondary ;  and  each  of  these  has  a 
different  intensity. 

The  *  metallic  connections  in  all  apparatus  re- 
quire to  be  kept  perfectly  clean  and  bright,  and 
the  acid  not  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
metal  or  with  the  wood.  Neither  must  the  quick- 
silver come  in  contact  with  the  platina  plate  or 
any  other  metal,  as  it  will  spoil  the  platina,  and 
injure  the  metal  of  any  other  part  of  the  machine. 

Instruments,  or  Electrodes,  for  Local  Treatment. 

We  have  now  many  instruments  for  the  con- 
venient medical  application  of  the  different  forms 


A  MANUAL  FOB   STUDENTS.  69 

of  electricity,  such  as  instruments  for  the  eye,  ear 
tongue,  throat,  vagina,  uterus,  and  rectum,  besides 
sponge-handle  and  wire-brush  electrodes.  We 
have  also  the  electrode  slipper,  and  sponge-handles 
of  various  kinds  and  sizes ;  electro-puncture 
needles,  insulated  male  and  female  catheter  elec- 
trodes, and  various  cauterizing  instruments.  Be- 
sides these,  we  use  in  our  practice  metallic  plates 
and  bands  of  various  shapes  and  sizes  ;  altogether 
making  a  large  assortment  of  appliances,  at  once 
elaborate  and  useful.  In  addition  to  these,  every 
operator  should  be  furnished  with  various  kinds  of 
speculums,  and  whatever  his  inventive  genius  may 
or  can  devise.  A  pair  of  India-rubber  gloves  are 
very  useful,  as  they  enable  the  operator  to  hold 
the  sponges  in  each  hand  without  feeling  the 
current,  which  is  often  of  great  advantage.  "We 
regard  this  branch  of  the  healing  art  as  yet  in  its 
infancy ;  inventive  genius  having  scarcely  begun  to 
exert  its  powers  in  this  direction.  The  field  is  ex- 
tensive ;  and  the  prospects  flattering,  that,  at  no 
distant  future,  this  branch  of  therapeutics  will 
occupy  its  true  position  in  all  our  medical  institu- 
tions, and  its  blessings  be  shared  by  the  suffering 
everywhere. 

In  the  following  pages,  the  Galvanic  Bath  is  fre- 
quently spoken  of.  This  we  have  proved  to  be 
an  efficient  aid  in  restoring  unbalanced  conditions 
to  an  equilibrium ;  and  nothing  within  the  range 
of  medical  knowledge  has  proved  so  universally 


70  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

applicable  to  the  cure  of  all  cutaneous   affections 
when  scientifically  applied. 

Any  galvanic  battery  can  be  used  to  good 
advantage  in  connection  with  a  metallic  bath-tub. 
One  electrode  can  be  in  connection  with  the 
metallic  tube  at  the  foot  of  the  bath-tub  or  else- 
where, and  the  other  applied  locally  or  generally, 
as  the  case  may  require.  The  body  being  a  better 
conductor  than  water,  wherever  the  electrode  is 
applied  on  the  body,  the  current  passes  in  or  out 
at  that  point  according  as  the  negative  or  positive 
is  applied.  For  local  treatment,  a  sitz-bath 
answers  very  well ;  and  for  some  purposes  a  hand 
or  foot  bath  ;  or  the  current  may  be  used  as  are 
the  currents  of  the  electro-magnetic  machine,  by 
sponge  handles  and  electrodes.  In  giving  a  full 
or  half  bath,  the  time  may  vary  from  fifteen  mi- 
nutes to  thirty.  In  many  cases,  thorough  hand- 
rubbing,  and  squeezing  of  the  muscles,  will  aid 
much  in  the  cure.  We  have  seen  wonderful  effects 
produced  in  secondary  syphilis,  indolent  ulcers, 
and  mercurial  diseases,  by  this  means.  Dry 
rubbing  must  follow  the  bath;  and,  in  cool 
weather,  the  patient  should  remain  in-doors  fo* 
half  an  hour  or  more,  to  avoid  taking  cold. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  71 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

-i 
ELECTRICAL  DIAGNOSIS  AND  MEDICATION. 

Electrical  Diagnosis. 

TN  treating  upon  this  subject,  it  is  well  to  state 
_|_  that  no  two  persons  are  precisely  alike,  either 
in  temperament  or  susceptibility  to  electric  cur- 
rents ;  neither  is  every  part  of  the  system 
equally  sensitive  to  the  current  in  the  same  person. 
Consequently,  the  same  strength  of  current  does 
not  produce  the  same  effect  on  every  individual. 
Fleshy  persons  feel  it  less  sensibly  than  lean. 
This  being  the  case,  we  must,  in  our  diagnosis, 
make  due  allowance  for  any  difference  which  may 
exist.  As  a  general  rule,  those  parts  where  the 
bones  are  thinly  covered  with  muscle  and  fat  feel 
it  the  most,  especially  if  prominent  nerves  pass 
over  the  bones  :  hence  the  forehead  and  scalp, 
shoulder-blades,  and  over  the  ribs  and  sternum, 
shins,  hands,  and  internal  ear,  are  among  the  most 
sensitive  parts  of  the  body. 

When  any  part  of  the  body  is  more  sensitive  to 
the  current  than  natural,  and  a  dull  or  sharp  pain 
is  produced,  we  infer  that  there  is  a  too  positive 
condition  of  that  part  or  organ  ;  and,  on  the  con- 


72  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

trary,  if  there  is  a  lack  of  natural  sensibility,  we 
conclude  that  organ  or  part  is  too  inactive  or  ne- 
gative. In  treatment  one  will  require  soothing, 
the  other  tonic  and  stimulating  application's. 

As  the  hair,  in  its  dry  state,  is  a  non-conductor 
of  electricity,  we  first,  in  commencing  our  diagno- 
sis, moisten  the  hair  ;  next  seat  the  patient  on  the 
negative  electrode,  and  with  the  sponge  electrode 
in  one  hand,  and  the  other  moistened  with  water, 
with  a  very  gentle  current,  touch  the  upper  part  of 
the  spine  to  test  its  strength.  If  right,  commence 
on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  pass  the  hand  down 
on  all  sides  to  the  neck;  lastly,  pass  the  hand 
over  the  forehead  and  upper  part  of  the  face  ;  and 
if  any  sensitive  and  painful  spots  appear,  these 
spots  require  treatment  with  the  positive  electrode ; 
but,  if  you  find  any  part  in  the  opposite  condition, 
it  needs  treating  with  the  negative.  Sometimes 
diseased  parts  may  be  known  by  their  unnatural 
heat:  such  conditions  always  denote  positive 
action  ;  and  sometimes  the  hand  alone  is  sufficient 
to  allay  the  irritation. 

After  thus  diagnosing  the  head,  increase  the 
current,  and  with  either  two  or  three  fingers,  or  a 
small  sponge  electrode,  pass  gently  down  the 
centre  of  the  spine  to  its  base.  Then  make  similar 
passes  down  each  side  of  the  spine ;  and,  if  no 
tenderness  appears  in  any  part,  increase  the 
current,  and  repeat  the  operation.  If,  after 
doing  so  with  a  pretty  strong  current,  no  tender 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  73 

places  appear,  you  may  conclude  the  spine  is  not 
at  fault,  unless  some  parts  are  devoid  of  natural 
sensation  :  in  that  case,  there  is  a  lack  of  action, 
and  may  be  paralysis;  and,  in  either  case,  the 
treatment  would  have  to  be  according  to  the  case. 

After  diagnosing  the  spine,  place  the  positive 
electrode  on  the  cervical  vertebrae,  and  pass  the 
negative  over  the  scapula,  clavicle,  and  upper  part 
of  the  sternum  and*chest ;  then  pass  the  negative 
from  the  spine,  under  the  arms,  and  over  the  chest, 
lowering  the  positive  on  the  spine  to  a  little  above 
the  negative.  In  this  way  pass  the  negative  over 
the  kidneys,  stomach,  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  and 
bowels,  down  to  the  pubes.  Wherever  there  is 
more  or  less  sensibility  than  natural,  or  an  en- 
larged, contracted,  or  torpid  state,  the  parts  are 
either  unnaturally  positive  or  negative,  and  need 
treatment  according  to  their  respective  condi- 
tions. 

Next,  seat  the  patient  on  the  positive  ;  and,  if  a 
male,  pass  the  negative  over  the  spermatic  cords  ; 
and,  if  there  is  great  tenderness  or  susceptibility 
to  the  current,  there  is  indicated  seminal  weak- 
ness, impotency,  or  some  other  trouble  of  that 
nature,  especially  if  the  scrotum  is  flaccid,  and  the 
testicles  sensitive  to  the  touch  or  a  light  current. 
If  a  female,  and  there  is  great  weakness  of  the 
abdominal  muscles,  and  tenderness  over  the  uterus 
and  ovaries,  with  pain  in  the  sacral  and  lumbar 
region,  there  is  prolapsus  uteri  and  leucorrhea, 


74  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

with  dyspepsia  and  nervous  prostration.  If  there 
is  any  enlargement  over  the  ovaries,  there  may  be 
ovarian  tumor.  (In  order  to  diagnose  the  internal 
organs,  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  the  specu- 
lum). 

Next,  place  the  feet  on  a  metallic  plate,  or  large, 
moist  sponge,  with  the  negative,  and  apply  the 
positive  from  the  roots  of  the  sciatic  nerves  down 
to  the  popliteal  spaces  between  the  tendons ; 
thence  down  each  side  of  the  legs,  to  the  inner 
and  outer  sides  of  the  feet ;  and  if  any  unnatural 
sensitiveness  is  found  in  any  part,  on  the  whole 
course  of  the  nerves,  treatment  is  needed  :  it  may 
be  a  case  of  sciatica,  and  must  be  treated  accord- 
ingly. In  making  your  diagnosis,  have  the  parts 
exposed  as  little  as  possible,  and  rub  every  part  dry 
as  you  finish  its  diagnosis.  Make  the  diagnosis 
as  speedily  as  you  can,  and  avoid  producing 
unpleasant  sensations  as  much  as  possible,  and  be 
sure  to  avoid  giving  any  shocks.  If  your  patient 
is  very  nervous  and  sensitive,  better  leave  some 
unimportant  part  undiagnosed,  than  either  frighten 
or  fatigue  your  patient. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  it  is  well  to  examine 
the  pulse  and  tongue  ;  and,  if  the  lungs  are  af- 
fected, apply  the  stethescope  or  ear.  Use  all  the 
discrimination  and  judgment  you  can  to  compre- 
hend the  real  condition  of  your  patients,  and  gain 
their  confidence  ;  knowing  that  a  correct  knowledge 
of  the  disease  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  cure. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  75 

General  Tonic   Treatment. 

As  tliis  treatment  is  often  alluded  to  in  tlio 
following  pages,  we  will  here  speak  of  it  specifi- 
cally. Seat  the  patient  on  the  positive  electrode, 
secondary  current ;  and  either  with  the  sponge 
electrode,  or  the  metallic  handle  in  a  sponge,  treat 
all  the  wray  up  the  spine  to  the  cervical  vertebrae ; 
also  over  the  sides,  chest,  and  abdomen,  and  over 
the  arms  and  hands ;  then  moisten  the  hair,  and 
treat  gently  the  cerebellum,  and  give  a  few  passes 
also  over  the  forehead  and  temples.  Finish  by 
placing  the  positive  at  the  feet,  and  treat  with  the 
negative  all  up  the  limbs  to  the  body.  Treat  from 
twenty  to  thirty  minutes,  and  rub  each  part  dry  as 
you  finish  treating  it.  In  treating  all  kinds  of 
cases,  the  strength  of  current  and  time  required 
will  depend  on  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  must  be 
left  to  the  judgment  of  the  operator,  after  making 
a  careful  diagnosis.  Shorter  treatments  need  to 
be  given  to  the  nervous  and  much  prostrated  than 
to  the  more  robust,  as  their  systems  are  capable 
of  little  re-active  power,  which  consideration 
should  always  govern  our  treatment,  as  to  the 
length  of  the  seance  and  strength  of  current. 

MEDICATION. 

We  are  aware  that  some  very  intelligent  opera- 
tors entirely  discard  every  kind  of  medication,  and 


76  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

claim  that  electricity,  unaided  and  alone,  is  suffi  • 
cient  for  all  emergencies.  To  all  such  we  would 
say,  you  are  welcome  to  your  one-idea  system,  for 
such  it  really  is ;  but  it  can  scarcely  claim  a 
relation  to  the  progressive  developments  of  tho 
present  age.  For  ourselves,  we  can  say  that  we 
positively  know  of  many  remedies  that  are  power- 
ful aids  in  many  cases,  where  the  best  electrical 
treatment  alone  would  either  fail,  or  require  a 
much  longer  time  to  effect  a  cure  without  them. 
Our  practice  will  continue  to  be,  not  to  discard  any 
known  and  reliable  means  which  we  have  proved 
to  be  efficacious  in  curing  disease,  and  relieving 
the  sufferings  of  our  fellow-creatures. 

Having  thoroughly  studied  and  tested  the  merits 
of  hydropathy,  and  practiced  extensively  according 
to  allopathic  rule;  having  also  graduated  in  the 
homoeopathic  school, — we  have  reason  to  know 
that  each  has  its  merits;  and  we  would  advise 
all  students  to  give  their  patients  the  advantage 
of  the  best  medical  treatment  within  their  knowl- 
edge, not  discarding  any  known  remedy,  of  what- 
ever school  it  may  be,  or  from  whatever  source 
derived.  This  do  in  connection  with  your  electri- 
cal treatment.  Besides,  we  would  advise  every 
advantage  to  be  taken  of  all  hydropathic  and 
hygienic  agencies  within  our  knowledge,  human 
magnetism  included :  for,  be  assured,  there  is 
healing  power  in  healthy  organisms ;  and,  when 
there  is  a  will  that  good  should  be  done  to  the 


A  MANUAL  FOR   STUDENTS.  77 

patient,  it  can  be  done.  This  is  just  as  certain  in 
this  day,  as  that  Jesus  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
blind,  made  the  lame  to  walk,  and  cleansed  the 
lepers,  two  thousand  years  ago.  In  a  word,  we 
say,  be  free  to  use  all  available  means  for  good, 
and,  our  word  for  it,  you  will  heal  more  sick,  and 
make  more  wonderful  cures,  than  by  limiting  your- 
self to  any  one  alone. 


78  MEDICAL  ELECTEIOITY. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TBEATMENT. 

Inflammation  (from  inflammo,  to  burn). 

TNFLAMMATION  is  characterized  by  heat, 
JL  pain,  redness,  attended  with  more  or  less 
tumefaction  and  fever.  It  is  divided  into  two 
species,  viz.,  phlegmonous  and  erysipelatous,  and 
subdivided  into  acute  and  chronic,  local  and 
general. 

Phlegmonous  inflammation  is  known  oy  its  bright 
redness,  tumidity,  and  proneness  to  suppurate, 
and  by  its  heating  and  pulsatory  action.  It  has 
three  terminations,  viz.:  resolution,  when  there  is  a 
gradual  abatement  of  symptoms;  suppuration, 
when  the  inflammation  does  not  readily  yield  to 
appropriate  treatment  or  remedies ;  and  gangrene, 
or  mortification,  when  the  pain  abates,  the  pulse 
sinks,  and  cold  perspiration  appears. 

Acute  inflammation  runs  a  rapid  course  :  the 
pulse  is  full  and  bounding ;  the  skin,  hot  and  dry. 

Chronic  inflammation  is  milder,  and  of  longer 
duration.  Local  applies  to  a  part,  and  general  to 
the  entire  sytem.  Erysipelatous  inflammation  is  of 
a  dull-red  color,  superficial,  and  merely  of  the 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  79 

skin ;  spreading  unequally -,  with  burning  and  sting- 
ing, and  generally  ends  in  vesicles,  or  desquama- 
fcion. 

CYSTITIS,   OR  INFLAMMATION   OF  THE  BLADDER. 

Symptoms,  or  Diagnosis. — Violent  burning,  lanci- 
nating or  throbbing  pain  in  the  region  of  the 
bladder,  sometimes  extending  to  the  perineum, 
genitals,  and  upper  part  of  the  thighs  :  the  pain 
is  increased  by  pressure  over  the  pubes  and 
perineum.  There  is  frequent  efforts  to  urinate, 
but  without  success,  except  in  drops  with  severe 
pain.  Bowels  are  constipated;  pulse,  full  and 
hard ;  skin,  hot  and  dry ;  thirst,  urgent ;  with 
sickness  of  the  stomach,  and  vomiting. 

Causes. — Mechanical  and  irritating  substances  in 
the  bladder ;  urine  retained  too  long  (a  frequent 
cause  with  ladies);  external  injuries;  cold,  sup- 
pressed perspiration ;  hemorrhoidal  discharges  ; 
cantharides,  turpentine,  &c.,  or  metastasis  of  gout 
and  rheumatism. 

Treatment. — Place  the  patient  in  a  shallow, 
warm  sitz  bath,  with  a  sponge  and  negative 
electrode  at  the  perineum,  with  moderate  induced 
current ;  and  treat  over  the  kidneys,  lumbar 
region,  pubes,  and  lower  part  of  the  abdomen,  for 
ten  minutes :  if  urination  takes  place,  all  the 
better.  Then  put  the  feet  in  a  pail  of  warm 
water,  with  the  negative  electrode,  and  treat  with 
the  positive  over  the  kidneys,  spine,  abdomen, 


80  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

pubes,  perineum,  and  genitals,  for  ten  minutes. 
If  a  male,  place  the  genitals  in  a  cup,  with  the 
negative  electrode,  having  the  water  warm.  Treat 
in  this  way  for  five  minutes,  applying  the  positive 
over  the  bladder  and  pubes;  let  this  finish  the 
treatment. 

For  soothing  the  nerves,  and  promoting  free 
urination,  a  full  warm  sitz  bath,  taken  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes  before  going  to  bed,  is  often  of 
great  service.  The  diet  must  be  moderate,  and  of 
a  cooling  and  soothing  nature:  all  extremes  of 
heat  or  cold  avoided ;  the  room  kept  cool  and  well 
ventilated.  Quiet  must  be  observed,  and  effort 
avoided,  by  the  patient. 

PHRENITIS,   OB  INFLAMMATION   OF  THE  BRAIN. 

Diagnosis. — High  fever,  violent  headache,  red-» 
ness  of  the  face  and  eyes,  throbbing  of  the  temporal 
arteries,  intolerance  of  light  and  sound,  watch- 
fulness, and  delirium,  which  often  becomes  furious. 

It  commences  with  a  sense  of  fulness  in  the 
head,  pulse  full,  restlessness,  disturbed  sleep,  or 
its  entire  loss. 

Causes. — Blows,  falls,  or  other  injuries  of  the 
head ;  suppressed  eruptions,  and  habitual  dis- 
charges, and  overtaxing  the  mind. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative, 
by  means  of  a  moist  sponge  inclosing  the  electrode : 
moisten  the  hair  all  over  the  head,  and  either  by 
means  of  a  metallic  cap  to  fit  the  head,  or  large 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  81 

moist  sponge,  apply  the  positive  to  the  head,  with 
a  light  primary  current,  but  not  so  strong  as  to  bo 
unpleasant  to  the  feeling,  bearing  in  mind  that  the 
head  is  very  sensitive  to  the  current,  even  in  its 
normal  condition.  Make  steady  and  gentle  passes 
down  the  spine  from  all  parts  of  the  head,  ceasing 
for  a  moment  every  few  minutes.  After  treating 
in  this  manner  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  change 
to  the  secondary  current,  and,  with  a  moderate 
current,  treat  from  the  neck  down  to  the  base  of 
the  spine  for  five  to  ten  minutes;  then,  laying 
down  the  electrode,  operate  gently,  making  passes 
with  both  hands  from  the  forehead  all  down  the 
spine  for  five  minutes ;  then  have  the  patient  lie 
down,  with  the  head  well  elevated,  and,  if  there 
still  continues  heat  and  fulness,  apply  cold  com- 
presses to  the  head,  until  the  heat  and  pain  is 
reduced.  A  bag  of  pounded  ice  is  often  of  great 
use,  placed  under  the  back  part  of  the  head. 
Keep  the  room  dark,  cool,  and  quiet ;  give  cold, 
acid  drinks  and  cooling  diet,  until  the  inflammation 
and  fever  subside.  The  electrical  applications 
may  be  renewed  every  two  hours,  until  the  fever 
has  abated,  or  the  polarities  are  changed.  "Warm 
derivative  foot  and  hip  baths  also  aid  in  restoring 
the  equilibrium.  If  the  patient  is  unable  to  sit  up, 
the  electrode  may  be  placed  under  him  between 
the  hips,  or  at  the  feet.  This  rule  holds  good  in 
all  cases ;  for,  if  we  cannot  always  do  just  as  we 

G 


82  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

would  like,  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  under  the 
circumstances. 

PNEUMONIA,   OR  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  LUNGS, 

Diagnosis. — The  attack  commences  with  chills 
and  flushes  of  heat ;  pain  in  the  chest ;  difficult 
perspiration ;  sense  of  weight ;  cough,  with  frothy 
expectoration,  which  changes,  as  the  disease 
advances,  to  a  bloody  sputa ;  pain  aggravated  by 
coughing  ;  face  bloated  and  livid  (in  consequence 
of  the  imperfect  change  of  the  blood  in  the  lungs) ; 
the  pulse  full,  and  skin  hot  and  dry. 

Causes. — Checked  perspiration,  by  exposure  to 
cold  or  sudden  changes  of  temperature;  violent 
exertion  in  speaking,  or  blowing  on  wind  instru- 
ments ;  inhaling  of  obnoxious  vapors  or  irritating 
particles. 

Treatment. — There  is  no  disease  that  requires 
more  prompt  treatment  than  this.  Apply  the 
positive  to  the  spine,  from  the  seventh  cervical 
vertebra,  to  below  the  shoulders,  either  by 'means 
of  the  metallic  plate  for  the  back,  or  a  large  flat 
sponge,  with  the  negative  attached  to  the  chest- 
plate,  having  it  touch  as  much  of  the  surface  as 
possible.  Use  the  secondary  current  as  strong  as 
can  be  endured  without  pain.  Move  both  the 
plates  gradually  down  to  below  the  chest,  reversing 
them  every  few  minutes,  so  as  to  bring  both  front 
and  back  under  the  positive  pole.  Keep  up  the 
treatment  until  the  congestion  and  pain  is 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  83 

relieved.  The  same  may  be  repeated  every  two 
hours,  until  an  equilibrium  is  restored,  and  the 
patient  out  of  danger.  Cooling  and  mucilaginous 
drinks  may  be  given,  and  the  chest  covered  with  a 
moist  compress,  frequently  changed,  care  being 
taken  to  prevent  any  chilly  feeling  during  the 
change.  Sore  or  tender  places  may  be  treated  on 
general  principles ;  and,  to  restore  the  strength, 
general  tonic  treatment  may  be  given  as  soon  as 
the  case  will  warrant.  Keep  the  room  cool,  quiet, 
and  well  ventilated,  as  pure  air  makes  pure  blood, 
which  in  turn  restores  health  and  strength.  To 
prevent  congestion  of  the  brain  keep  the  head 
cool.  ^ 

The  above  may  be  varied  by  seating  the  patient 
on  the  negative,  and  treating  with  the  positive 
over  every  part  of  the  chest,  beginning  at  the 
apex  of  the  lungs,  and  treating  to  below  the 
diaphragm. 

PLEUKITIS,   OB  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  PLEURA. 

Diagnosis. — Pleurisy  is  an  inflammation  of  the 
lining  membrane  of  the  chest.  It  commences 
with  a  sharp,  lancinating  pain,  generally  in  the 
right  side ;  increased  by  a  full  inspiration ;  pulse 
full  and  hard ;  skin,  hot  and  dry ;  and  severe 
pain  upon  intercostal  pressure,  «.  e.  on  the  spaces 
between  the  ribs. 

Causes. — Over  exertion,  suppressed  perspira- 
tion, cold,  or  exposure. 


84:  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

Treatment. — Treat  the  painful  parts  by  means 
of  a  large  sponge  electrode,  positive  pole,  and 
secondary  current,  but  not  so  strong  as  to  be  pain- 
ful. Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  or  apply  it 
on  the  opposite  side  or  in  the  opposite  hand. 
Continue  the  treatment  until  relief  is  obtained, 
which  will  usually  be  in  five  or  fifteen  minutes. 
Treat  twice  a  day  or  oftener  ;  and,  as  the  pain  and 
soreness  leaves,  make  the  treatment  more  general, 
with  a  view  to  balance  perfectly  the  electrical 
polarities  of  the  system.  Make  cooling  applica- 
tions, as  in  pneumonia. 

GASTBITIS,   OE  INFLAMMATION   OF    THE   STOMACH. 

Diagnosis. — Pain  in  the  stomach,  with  a  burning 
sensation;  loathing  of  food,  retching,  vomiting, 
increased  by  taking  anything  warm ;  hiccough ; 
pulse  small  and  hard ;  tongue  coated  in  the  centre, 
with  the  edges  and  tip  red  and  shining,  with  fever, 
anxiety,  and  mental  disquietude. 

Causes. — Acrid  substances,  arsenic,  and  corro- 
sive sublimate;  crude  articles  of  food,  unripe  fruit, 
drinking  much  cold  water,  taking  ice-cream  or 
iced  fruits  when  heated  by  exercise. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative  by 
means  of  a  sponge,  S.  C.,  and  apply  the  positive 
over  the  stomach,  liver,  small  and  large  intestines, 
also  over  the  kidneys,  loins,  and  lumbar  vertebra. 
Commence  with  a  gentle  current,  and  increase  as 
it  can  be  endured  without  increased  pain.  After 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  85 

treating  ten  to  fifteen  minutes,  lay  down  the 
electrode,  and  manipulate  with  the  warm  hand. 
If  there  is  constipation,  give  a  warm  injection  of 
rice-water,  and  procure  an  evacuation.  Let  the 
drinks  and  diet  be  of  a  mucilaginous  kind.  Small 
bits  of  ice  may  be  placed  on  the  tongue  or  swal- 
lowed, if  agreeable  to  the  patient.  Treat  three  or 
four  times  daily.  Cool  compresses  applied  to  the 
stomach  are  often  very  beneficial. 

HEPATITIS,   OR  INFLAMMATION   OF    THE  LIVER. 

Diagnosis. — Pain  in  the  right  hypochondrium, 
extending  to  the  right  shoulder ;  pains  much  in- 
creased by  pressure  on  the  part,  sometimes  cutting, 
but  often  dull  and  obtuse ;  sometimes  there  is 
cough,  difficulty  of  breathing,  thirst,  loss  of  appe- 
tite, constipation,  stools  clay-colored,  urine,  high- 
colored  and  scanty.  If  the  disease  continues  a 
few  days,  or  becomes  chronic,  the  skin  becomes 
yellow,  and  the  eyes  also,  constituting  jaundice  ; 
there  is  laDguor  and  proneness  to  sleep. 

Causes. — Contusions  and  blows,  iDflanimations 
of  other  organs,  great  changes  from  heat  to  cold, 
fevers,  suddenly-suppressed  bilious  diarrheas, 
gall-stones,  mineral  poisons,  and  intoxicating 
drinks. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  over  the  liver,  by 
means  of  a  metallic  plate,  with  a  moist,  folded  towel 
under  the  plate,  covering  the  most  tender  part. 
Apply  the  negative  by  means  of  a  large  sponge- 


86  MEDICAL  ELEOTEICITY. 

handle  over  the  left  side,  front,  and  back,  passing 
the  negative  down  to  the  base  of  the  spine,  and 
also  over  the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen.  In 
severe  cases,  give  two  or  three  treatments  a  day, 
until  relief  is  obtained  ;  then  once  a  day  till  well. 
Keep  the  bowels  free  and  regular ;  diet,  &c.,  as 
in  gastritis. 

For  Enlarged  Liver. — Treat  with  the  negative 
over  the  liver,  and  positive  on  the  opposite  side 
and  spine,  for  five  minutes ;  then  treat  the  liver 
with  positive  S.  C.  as  strong  as  can  be  well  en- 
dured ;  negative  on  left  side  and  spine,  down  to 
the  coccyx;  then  over  the  spleen  and  bowels,  being 
careful  to  follow  their  course  from  the  duodenum 
to  the  descending  colon. 

For  Torpid  and  Hardened  Liver. — Positive  on 
the  spine,  from  the  neck  downwards ;  negative 
over  the  liver  ten  minutes ;  then  positive  on .  the 
liver  and  bowels,  and  negative  at  the  coccyx  ten 
minutes :  treat  daily  with  strong  current. 

For  Biliary  Calculi. — Treat  over  the  liver  (and 
gall-duct  in  particular)  with  negative  hot  sponge, 
and  strong  current,  so  as  to  expand  the  parts ; 
positive  on  the  spine  and  back  part  of  the  liver. 
Do  this  for  fifteen  minutes  ;  then  seat  on  the 
negative,  and  apply  the  positive  over  the  whole 
liver,  beginning  on  the  back,  and  finish  over  the 
gall-duct  where  it  empties  into  the  duodenum. 
As  soon  as  the  calculi  have  passed,  the  patient  will 
feel  relieved.  Treat  two  or  three  times  daily 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  87 

until  relief  is  obtained,  and  afterwards  give  general 
tonic  treatment,  not  neglecting  the  liver  and  spleen. 
By  examining  the  faeces,  the  gall-stones  may  be 
found,  if  not  too  large  to  pass  through  the  duct. 
Hot  fomentations  are  often  of  great  service. 

ENTEEITTS,   OK  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  INTESTINES. 

Diagnosis. — Burning  or  aching  pain  about  the 
umbilicus ;  bowels  generally  sore  to  the  touch ; 
great  constipation,  except  when  the  inflammation 
is  in  the  inferior  portion  of  the  intestinal  canal, 
when  dysenteric  evacuations  occur.  There  is  urgent 
thirst,  nausea,  and  vomiting ;  skin  hot  and  dry, 
tongue  dry  and  furred,  with  edges  pale ;  urine 
high-colored,  scanty,  and  passed  with  difficulty. 

Causes. — Hardened  foeces,  colic,  spasms,  intus- 
susception, drastic  purgatives,  hernia,  mechanical 
injuries,  worms,  and  metastasis  from  erysipelas, 
gout,  and  rheumatism. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative 
S.  C.,  and,  either  with  a  large  sponge  or  the  chest- 
plate,  treat  all  over  the  abdomen  with  positive  for 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  If  there  is  constipation, 
give  warm  mucilaginous  injections,  and  repeat  the 
electrical  applications  every  two  or  three  hours, 
until  the  symptoms  improve.  Frequently  there  is 
great  relief  from  the  first  treatment.  Sometimes 
warm  fomentations  between  the  treatments  are  of 
great  service.  Diet,  &c.,  as  in  gastritis. 


88  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

NEPHRITIS,   OB  INFLAMMATION   OF  THE  KIDNEYS. 

Diagnosis. — Pain  in  the  region  of  the  kidneys, 
shooting  along  the  course  of  the  ureter  (drawing  up 
the  testes,  if  a  male),  numbness  of  the  thigh, 
vomiting  ;  urine  high-colored  and  voided  frequently, 
but  with  difficulty ;  pulse  full,  hard,  and  frequent, 
in  the  early  stages ;  later  it  is  small  and  more  fre- 
quent. The  disease  runs  a  rapid  course,  and 
seldom  continues  beyond  the  seventh  day. 

Causes. — Contusions,  strains  of  the  back,  colds, 
violent  exercise,  irritating  articles,  such  as  cantha- 
rides,  turpentine,  savine,  and  metastasis  from  gout, 
and  rheumatism. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  over  the  kidneys 
and  along  the  course  of  the  ureters  to  the  bladder; 
S.  0.,  seating  the  patient  on  the  negative  for  ten 
minutes ;  then  place  the  genitals  in  the  cup,  with 
the  negative,  for  five  minutes ;  next  place  the  nega- 
tive at  the  feet  in  warm  water,  and  treat  with  the 
positive  over  the  kidneys,  ureters,  and  bladder  for 
five  minutes.  Treat  twice  or  three  times  a  day 
until  the  pain  ceases,  then  once  a  day  till  well. 
Drinks,  diet,  &c.,  as  in  cystitis. 

SPLENITIS,   OE  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  SPLEEN. 

Diagnosis. — Fever,  pain  in  the  left  side,  heat, 
tumor,  pain  increased  by  pressure,  but  not  very 
acute,  eyes  and  skin  slightly  yellow,  and  urine 
tinged  with  bile,  burning  in  the  stomach,  vertigo 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  89 

on  rising  up  in  bed,  dyspetic  symptoms,  and  fret- 
fulness. 

Causes. — Long-continued  intermittent  and  remit 
tent  fevers,  the  abuse  of  quinine,  marshy  effluvia 
and  sympathetically  from  inflammation  of  the 
stomach. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative 
S.  C.,  and  treat  over  the  spleen,  stomach,  liver,  and 
intestines  with  the  positive  ten  to  fifteen  minutes, 
twice  daily.  Warm  fomentations  aid  in  the  cure. 
Keep  the  bowels  free.  Diet,  &c.,  as  in  inflamma- 
tion of  the  stomach. 

DIAPHEAGMITIS,     OE     INFLAMMATION     OF     THE 
DIAPHEAGM. 

Diagnosis. — Alternate  chills  and  flushes  of  heat ; 
pain  on  the  diaphragm  in  coughing  or  sneezing,  or 
pressing  on  the  chest  and  abdomen;  pulse  full, 
with  cough,  and  sometimes  delirium. 

Causes. — Same  as  in  pleurisy. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative 
S.  C.,  .and  apply  the  metallic  girdle  and  pad  over 
the  diaphragm  for  ten  minutes ;  then  use  sponge- 
handle  from  the  diaphragm  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
body  and  spine  for  five  minutes.  Treat  two  or 
three  times  a  day  until  the  pain  ceases,  then  as  tho 
case  seems  to  require.  Diet,  &c.,  as  in  gastritis. 
Fomentations  of  warm  water  are  good  in  this  dis- 
ease. 


90  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

OPHTHALMIA,   OE  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  EYE. 

Diagnosis. — Redness,  congestion  of  the  mem- 
branes, pain,  intolerance  of  light,  profuse  lachry- 
mation,  sometimes  a  purulent  discharge,  sensation 
as  if  sand  were  in  the  eye ;  when  deep-seated, 
severe  headache  is  often  a  constant  attendant. 

Causes. — Exposure  to  cold  winds,  suppressed 
habitual  discharges,  vivid  rays  of  the  sun,  close 
study,  mechanical  injuries,  syphilis,  or  gonorrheal 
matter  applied  to  the  eye. 

Treatment. — The  eye  being  a  very  delicate  organ, 
great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  have  the  current 
too  strong.  First  moisten  the  hair  from  the  crown 
to  the  neck,  fill  the  eye-glass  with,  pure  soft  water, 
attach  the  positive  S.  0.,  and  place  the  cup  to  the 
eye  so  that  it  may  all  be  in  contact  with  the  water ; 
apply  the  negative  to  the  back  of  the  head  and 
down  the  spine  for  five  minutes,  then  change  the 
water,  and  proceed  as  before  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes.  Give  two  treatments  daily,  and  other 
local  or  general  treatment  if  necessary.  Keep  the 
room  dark,  but  well  ventilated  ;  avoid  rubbing  the 
eyes,  and  finish  the  treatment  by  making  gentle 
passes  with  both  hands  from  the  forehead  back- 
ward down  the  spine.  The  diet  must  be  light  and 
cooling,  and  promote  a  free  general  circulation, 
keeping  the  extremities  warm,  and  the  bowels  free 
and  regular. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  91 

THICKENED   OR  GKANULATED  EYELIDS,   AND   STYE. 

Treatment  as  in  the  preceding  inflammation,  ex- 
cept by  first  using  P.  C.,  and  finish  with  the  secon- 
dary. If  there  is  much  debility,  give  general 
tonic  treatment ;  and,  if  the  disease  is  from  scrofu- 
lous or  other  impurities  in  the  system,  treat 
accordingly. 

CATAKACT. 

This  is  a  species  of  blindness,  arising  from  an 
opacity  of  the  crystalline  lens  or  its  capsule,  which 
prevents  the  rays  of  light  passing  to  the  retina. 
The  first  symptoms  are  as  if  particles  of  dust  were 
in  the  eye,  or  floating  before  it.  At  first  there  is 
no  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  eye ;  it  is  first 
turbid,  then  grayish,  ash  color,  or  white  :  it  is 
sometimes  hard,  soft,  or  fluid,  or  like  curd. 

Causes.  —  Often  obscure ;  mechanical ;  deep- 
seated  inflammation ;  exposure  to  intense  light.  It 
is  often  hereditary  from  a  scrofulous  diathesis,  or 
syphilitic  taint. 

Treatment. — By  means  of  the  eye-cup,  apply 
the  positive  P.  0.  to  the  eye ;  negative  on  the 
cerebellum,  neck,  and  spine.  Have  the  current  as 
strong  as  can  be  endured  without  pain :  remove 
and  replace  the  sponge  every  half-minute  ;  con- 
tinue for  ten  minutes  each  sitting.  Treat  once  a 
day  for  a  week  or  ten  clays,  and,  if  no  improve- 
ment takes  place,  cease  the  treatment,  and  resort 


92  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

to  the  electrical  machine.  Place  the  patient  ou 
the  insulated  stool,  and  draw  sparks  from  the 
opaque  part  of  the  eye,  having  the  lid  closed 
This  may  be  done  until  some  redness  appears ; 
then  cease,  and  repeat  next  day,  or  more  seldom, 
as  the  case  seems  to  require.  Nice  discrimination 
is  needed  in  such  cases,  for  it  will  not  be  well  to 
produce  much  irritation.  The  eye  must  be  en- 
tirely shaded  from  the  light  during  the  rest  of  the 
day,  and  all  excitement  avoided,  and  perfect  quiet 
observed.  Diet  light  and  cooling,  and  rooms  well 
ventilated.  If  the  system  is  reduced,  give  general 
tonic  treatment:  if  there  is  no  change  for  the 
better  in  twenty  days,  the  case  is  very  doubtful. 

AMAUKOSIS. 

Diagnosis. — Paralysis  of  the  optic  nerve,  with 
a  want  of  contraction  and  dilatation  of  the  pupil, 
which  sometimes  appears  dull  or  glossy. 

Causes. — Organic  diseases  of  the  eye,  but  often 
from  turgescence  on  some  part  of  the  eye;  con- 
tusions, over-exertion,  convulsions,  pregnancy. 

Treatment. — Negative  S.  C.,  with  the  eye-glass 
to  the  eye ;  and,  after  moistening  the  hair  from 
the  crown  to  the  neck,  apply  the  positive  over  the 
back  of  the  head  and  neck,  for  three  minutes; 
then  cease  for  a  few  seconds,  and  treat  again  fof 
ten  to  fifteen  minutes,  changing  the  eye-glass 
from  one  eye  to  the  other  every  five  minutes.  IJ 
the  causes  remain,  try  and  remove  them,  and  give 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  93 

general  tonic  treatment  if  needed.  These  chronic 
diseases  sometimes  require  lengthy  treatment  to 
effect  a  cure  ;  but  the  improvement  is  soon  evident. 

FISTULA      LACHRYMALIS,     OR     OBSTRUCTION      OF      THE 
LACHRYMAL  DUCT. 

Treatment. — Apply,  by  means  of  a  small  sponge 
electrode,  the  positive  to  the  gland  over  the 
lachrymal  duct,  S.  C.,  and,  with  a  small  electrode 
inside  the  nostril,  apply  the  negative  ;  but,  if  the 
current  is  too  strong,  treat  with  the  P.  C.  A  little 
general  treatment,  especially  about  the  head,  eyes, 
face,  and  throat,  is  very  good.  Give  treatment 
daily,  until  the  duct  is  free  and  healed. 

STRABISMUS,    OE  SQUINTING, 

When  congenital,  may  require  a  surgical  ope- 
ration; when  not  congenital,  it  is  often  readily 
cured. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  P.  C.  to  the  re- 
laxed muscles,  and  negative  to  the  contracted 
ones,  for  a  few  moments  at  a  time,  repeating  the 
same  from  five  to  ten  minutes.  Repeat  the  treat- 
ment daily,  until  restored. 

MYOPIA,    OE  NEAE-SIGHTEDNESS. 

When  congenital,  it  is  doubtful  of  cure ;  but 
when  caused  from  congestion  of  the  humors  oi 
the  eye,  and  abuse  of  mercury,  it  may  be  cured. 


94  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  S.  0.  by  the  eye* 
glass  to  the  eyes  alternately  with  the  negative  on 
the  spine  and  back  of  the  head;  and,  to  coun- 
teract the  mercury,  seat  the  patient  on  the  posi- 
tive, and  treat  all  over  the  body  with  the  negative 
P.  C.  This  may  be  alternated  with  the  treatment 
on  the  eyes.  Favorable  results  may  be  expected 
within  a  week.  The  eyes  must  not  be  taxed  much 
during  treatment :  all  the  evacuations  must  be 
kept  natural;  food  nutritious,  but  of  easy  diges- 
tion. 

PEESBYOPIA,    OB    FAE-SIGHTEDNESS. 

This  depends  on  a  flattened  state  of  the  cornea, 
or  the  crystalline  lens,  caused  by  mercury  and 
ardent  spirits.  The  treatment  is  the  reverse  of 
myopia,  except  the  mercurial  part,  which  is  the 
same.  This  eye-treatment  is  good  for  elderly 
people,  and  for  all  weak  conditions  of  the  eyes. 

PEEITONITIS,  OE  INFLAMMATION    OP    THE  PEEITONEUM. 

Treatment.  — •  Same  as  inflammation  of  the 
bowels. 

OTITIS,   OE  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  INTEENAL  EAE. 

Diagnosis. — Throbbing  and  excruciating  pain  in 
the  ear,  frequently  extending  through  the  head, 
with  fever. 

Causes. — Cold,  and  a  result  of  measles,  scarlet 
fever,  and  other  eruptive  diseases. 


A  MANUAL   FOR   STUDENTS.  95 

Treatment — In  the  acute  and  early  stage,  treat 
first  with  the  positive  S.  C.,  by  means  of  the 
sponge  electrode,  over  the  painful  ear  or  ears, 
negative  in  the  hands ;  then  negative  on  the  spine, 
between  the  shoulders  and  neck.  Next  apply 
positive,  by  means  of  ear  electrode,  inside  the  ear, 
passing  the  negative  from  the  neck  down  the 
spine,  for  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  altogether.  Do 
not  have  the  current  so  strong  as  to  increase  the 
pain.  If  the  ears  have  commenced  to  suppurate, 
use  the  P.  0.,  and  reverse  the  treatment  by  treat- 
ing the  ears  with  the  negative,  and  occasionally 
placing  the  positive  on  the  tongue.  Keep  the 
ears  as  clean  as  possible,  by  syringing  them 
gently  with  tepid  castile  soap-suds,  twice  a  day. 
Treat  once  or  twice  daily,  as  the  case  seems  to 
require.  For  further  treatment  of  diseases  of  the 
ears,  see  "  Deafness." 

LARYNGITIS,   OR  INFLAMMATION    OF    THE    LARYNX. 

Diagnosis. — This  disease  commences  with  symp- 
toms common  to  other  inflammatory  affections, 
such  as  chills,  alternating  flushes  of  heat,  soreness 
in  the  fauces,  uneasiness  in  swallowing,  voice 
hoarse,  breathing  laborious,  pulse  full ;  face 
flushed,  sometimes  purple  ;  eyes  staring,  evincing 
great  suffering. 

Causes. — Cold,  suddenly  suppressed  perspira- 
tion. 

Treatment. — Place    the  positiye    S.  C.   on    the 


96  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

tongue,  and  with  the  negative  treat  the  throat, 
neck,  and  chest ;  finish  by  seating  the  patient  on 
the  negative,  and  treat  the  neck  and  throat  and 
upper  part  of  the  chest  with  the  positive,  all  oc- 
cupying ten  to  twenty  minutes.  Treat  twice  or 
oftener  daily,  as  the  symptoms  indicate.  This 
disease  runs  a  speedy  course,  and  needs  careful 
and  prompt  treatment.  Cooling  compresses  and 
acidulated  drinks  and  gargles  are  often  very  grate- 
ful. For  food,  thin  oatmeal  gruel,  arrowroot,  rice 
or  barley,  soft  toast,  or  soaked  butter  crackers. 
In  all  inflammatory  and  febrile  diseases,  all  the 
evacuations  must  be  kept  free  and  natural. 

TONSILITIS,  OB  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  TONSILS, 
(QUINSY). 

Diagnosis. — Throat  sore,  swallowing,  and  breath- 
ing difficult,  cutting  pains,  tonsils  red  and  swollen ; 
throat  dry  and  parched,  with  much  mucus,  hard 
to  be  detached;  pulse  accelerated,  tongue  foul, 
breath  offensive. 

Causes. — As  in  laryngitis. 

Treatment. — Apply  positive  P.  0.  with  tongue 
and  throat  electrodes  on  the  tongue  and  to  the 
swollen  parts  of  the  throat,  and  negative  by  means 
of  metallic  band  around  the  body,  over  the  stomach, 
liver,  and  spleen.  Then  apply  the  positive  by 
means  of  a  sponge  electrode  over  the  throat,  neck, 
and  upper  part  of  the  chest,  all  occupying  fifteen 
to  twenty  minutes.  Treat  as  often  as  the 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  9-7 

symptoms    indicate.      Diet,   drinks,    &c.,   as    in 
laryngitis. 

GLOSSITIS,    OB    INFLAMMATION    OF    THE    TONGUE. 

Diagnosis. — Tongue  hot,  dry,  and  swollen :  it 
often  entirely  fills  the  mouth. 

Causes. — Calomel,  mechanical  injuries,  sting  of 
insects,  cold. 

Treatment. — Positive  S.  C.,  by  tongue  electrode, 
and  seated  on  the  negative ;  current  good  strength, 
for  ten  minutes  ;  then  with  sponge  electrode  treat 
the  neck,  ears,  throat,  and  chest  for  ten  minutes  ; 
treat  often  until  the  swelling  abates.  Drink,  diet, 
&c.,  as  in  laryngitis. 

TBACHITIS,   DIPHTHEBIA,   AND   CBOUP. 

Diagnosis. — Symptoms  of  cold ;  hoarseness  when 
crying;  cough  hoarse,  with  hollow  sound,  and 
crowing  noise  ;  next  shrill,  breathing  more  diffi- 
cult, face  flushed  and  swollen,  eyes  protrude  on 
coughing,  the  head  is  thrown  back,  with  anxious 
expression  of  countenance.  This  disease  requires 
the  closest  watching  and  most  energetic  treatment. 

Causes. — Cold  is  the  most  frequent ;  sleeping  in 
a  current  of  air,  especially  during  perspiration. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative  P. 

C.,  and  treat  the  throat  with  positive  from  the 

chin  to  the  chest ;  then  treat  the  sides  of  the  neck, 

from  the  ears  to  the  chest ;  and,  if  practicable, 

7 


98  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

introduce  tlie  throat  or  tongue  electrode  as  near 
the  roots  of  the  tongue  as  possible.  If  the  throat 
electrode  is  used,  fasten  a  small  piece  of  soft 
sponge,  moistened,  on  the  ball,  and  apply  for  three 
minutes,  and  repeat  several  times.  Finish  by  a 
general  treatment  with  the  positive,  from  the 
throat  down  to  the  stomach,  and  base  of  the  spine. 
The  whole  treatment  should  be  immediately  re- 
peated if  the  danger  has  not  disappeared  ;  apply- 
ing the  negative  on  the  neck  and  cerebellum,  with 
positive  in  front  and  on  the  tongue  ;  no  time  must 
be  lost.  For  drinks,  give  toast-water,  or  weak 
lemonade ;  avoid  all  mucilaginous  drinks.  Keep 
the  patient  as  quiet  as  possible,  and  the  room  well 
ventilated.  Diphtheria  is  treated  as  above,  with 
current  strong  as  can  be  well  endured.  Cooling 
compresses  may  also  be  applied. 

BKONCHITIS,   OB  INFLAMMATION   OF  THE  BKONCHIA. 

Diagnosis. — Commences  like  a  common  catarrh, 
with  slight  cough,  and  sense  of  tightness  and  op- 
pression in  the  chest.  At  first  the  cough  is  dry, 
but  soon  followed  by  copious  secretion  of  tough 
mucus,  and  abatement  of  the  cough.  The  acute 
form  of  bronchitis  much  resembles  croup  in 
children. 

Causes. — Same  as  in  general  inflammation  of 
the  organs  of  the  chest  and  throat. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  on  the  tongue, 
as  near  the  root  as  possible,  light  S.  C.,  and  nega- 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  99 

tive  on  the  spine  below  the  shoulders,  and  also 
over  the  stomach  and  bowels  for  eight  minutes ; 
then,  with  sponge  electrode,  treat  with  the  positive 
over  the  chest,  from  the  neck  down  to  the  dia- 
phragm, keeping  the  negative  at  the  same  time  a 
little  lower  on  the  spine  for  ten  minutes ;  then 
seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  and  trj-at  with 
the  positive,  all  the  way  from  the  neck  to  the 
abdomen  and  lumbar  vertebra.  Treat  once  or 
twice  daily,  until  the  symptoms  improve ;  then 
every  other  day  until  well. 

Diet  and  regimen,  same  as  in  trachitis. 

CHRONIC  BRONCHITIS. 

Diagnosis. — Uneasiness  in  the  chest;  rattling, 
or  a  loud  respiratory  murmur  ;  cough,  hoarseness 
increased  by  talking ;  hawking  and  scraping  of 
the  throat ;  the  expectoration  varies ;  pulse  small 
and  frequent ;  palms  of  the  hands  hot,  with  mental 
and  physical  irritability. 

Causes. — Over-exertion  of  the  voice,  constitu- 
tional predisposition,  asthma  and  catarrh,  colds 
and  exposure. 

Treatment. — So  long  as  there  is  irritation  and 
soreness  in  the  parts,  same  as  in  inflammation  of 
the  bronchia ;  but,  when  that  and  the  cough  cease, 
'  :st  treat  with  the  positive  S.  C.,  on  the  spine,  and 
negative  on  the  chest,  moving  both  downward  to 
the  abdomen  and  hips  at  the  same  time,  for  ten 
minutes.  Then  seat  on  the  positive,  and  treat  all 


100  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

over  up  to  the  cerebellum  with  the  negative,  to 
tone  up  the  whole  system,  and  restore  an  equilib- 
rium of  all  the  forces. 

Let  the  food  be  nutritious  and  of  easy  digest- 
ion ;  go  out  daily,  but  do  not  exercise  so  as  to  feel 
much  fatigue  ;  be  cheerful  and  hopeful  as  possible. 

INFLAMMATION   OP  THE   PALATE. 

Diagnosis. — Palate  much  inflamed,  red,  swollen, 
and  elongated,  resting  on  the  tongue,  with  burn- 
ing sensation,  and  constant  inclination  to  swallow, 
attended  with  some  difficulty. 

Causes.  —  Cold,  and  injuries  from  foreign  sub- 
stances ;  when  it  accompanies  inflammation  of 
the  throat  and  tonsils,  it  is  only  symptomatic. 

Treatment. — Attach  a  soft,  moist  sponge  to  the 
throat  electrode,  and  apply  to  the  palate,  positive 
P.  C.,  and  negative  on  the  back  of  the  head  and 
neck,  and  down  the  spine.  Next  place  the  positive 
at  the  root  of  the  nose,  negative  on  the  neck,  and 
down  the  spine  as  before.  Treat  twice  daily,  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  and  use  cooling  drinks, 
avoiding  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 

INFLAMMATION  OF   THE   GUMS. 

Diagnosis. — Gums  red,  swollen,  spongy,  easily 
bleed,  and  are  covered  with  small  white  canker- 
sores;  mouth  hot  and  dry;  tongue  coated,  foul, 
and  slimy ;  breath  foul,  with  putrid  taste. 

Causes. — Dental  irritation  and  decayed  teeth. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  101 

Treatment. — As  for  glossitis,  or  inflammation  of 
the  tongue. 

PARATITIS,   OR   MUMPS. 

Diagnosis. — Some  febrile  excitement,  stiffness  in 
the  jaws,  swelling  of  one  or  both  of  the  parotid 
glands,  increasing  until  the  fourth  day,  when  the 
cheek  is  much  swollen,  firm  and  tender ;  on  the 
fifth  day  the  swelling  begins  to  subside,  perspira- 
tion sets  in,  and  the  urine  deposits  a  red  sediment. 
To  prevent  metastasis,  keep  the  face  warm,  and 
not  take  cold.  This  disease  is  somewhat  conta- 
gious. 

Treatment. — Place  the  metallic  band  around  the 
waist,  with  negative  S.  C.,  and  with  the  sponge 
electrode  positive  treat  freely  over  the  swollen 
parts,  and  down  the  spine.  Next  put  the  feet  in 
warm  water  with  the  negative,  and  treat  with  the 
positive  from  the  swollen  parts  to  the  base  of  the 
spine,  altogether  occupying  thirty  minutes.  Treat 
twice  a  day  until  well.  Diet  light  and  cooling; 
keep  the  feet  warm  and  avoid  taking  cold. 

INFLAMMATORY  RHEUMATISM. 

Diagnosis. — Pains  in  the  joints,  swelling  and 
redness ;  the  perspiration  is  of  a  urinous  odor ; 
urine  albuminous,  and  diminished  in  quantity ;  it 
is  often  preceded  by  gastric  derangement. 

Causes. — Exposure  to  cold  or  wet  in  changeable 
weather,  dissipation,  abuse  of  mercury.  It  some- 


102  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

times   follows   scarlet  fever,   measles,   dysentery, 
and  suppressed  habitual  discharges. 

Treatment. — If  in  the  shoulders  or  arms,  take 
the  sponge  electrode  in  one  hand,  and  sponge 
handle  in  the  other;  place  the  positive  on  the 
lame  part,  with  the  negative  a  little  lower,  and 
pass  the  current  through  and  through,  passing 
down  to  the  hand ;  then  place  the  hand  with  the 
negative  in  warm  water,  and  treat  with  the  positive 
from  the  spine  down  to  the  hand ;  use  the  S.  0. 
If  the  spine  is  affected,  seat  on  the  negative  and 
treat  with  the  positive  to  the  base  of  the  spine ; 
the  current  strong  as  can  be  endured  without 
much  increase  of  pain.  If  the  disease  is  located 
about  the  heart  or  stomach,  treat  with  positive, 
using  a  light  current,  with  gentle,  even  pressure 
over  these  organs.  If  the  hips,  thighs,  knees,  or 
feet  are  affected,  treat  through  and  through  as  on 
the  arms ;  then  place  the  negative  in  water, 
placing  the  feet  in  it,  and  treat  freely  with  the 
positive  all  the  way  down.  After  the  disease  is 
cured,  give  a  few  general  tonic  treatments,  to 
establish  the  general  health  and  tone  of  the 
system. 

CHRONIC  RHEUMATISM. 

Diagnosis. — Enlarged  and  stiff  joints,  hands  and 
feet  often  much  deformed,  and  occasionally  pain- 
ful. 

Treatment. — To   reduce  the  enlargement,  first 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  1Q3 

use  the  negative  P.  0.  over  the  parts  (the  pure 
galvanic  is  best),  positive  on  the  opposite  side, 
but  a  little  lower  on  the  arm  or  leg ;  current 
moderate ;  then  treat  with  the  positive  on  the 
enlarged  part,  S.  0.,  with  the  hand  or  foot  in 
water,  as  in  acute  rheumatism.  All  the  other 
parts  are  to  be  treated  on  the  same  principle,  with 
occasional  general  tonic  treatment ;  freely  rubbing 
with  the  hands  aids  in  the  cure.  Belief  may  be 
expected  after  the  fourth  treatment.  Sometimes 
the  symptoms  are  worse  at  first,  but  soon  improve. 
Courage  and  perseverance  are  very  necessary  in 
these  old  chronic  cases.  Electro-chemical  baths 
are  excellent  in  both  acute  and  chronic  cases, 
when  available. 

ARTHKITIS,   OB  GOUT. 

Tbis  affection  is  commonly  confined  to  the 
joints,  generally  the  great  toe.  It  is  a  positive  or 
acute  disease,  and  requires  to  be  treated  precisely 
as  inflammatory  rheumatism  of  the  joints.  We 
must  find  the  cause  and  remove  it,  or  our  cure 
will  only  be  temporary. 

GONITIS,   OB  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  KNEE. 

Treatment — Whether  from  injuries  or  rheuma- 
tism, is  treated  as  rheumatism. 

In  case  of  white  swelling,  which  is  often  caused 
by  a  scrofulous  taint  in  the  system,  general  tonio 


104  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

treatment  should  precede  the  local.  Use  the 
P.  0.,  treat  locally  through  and  through  the  joint ; 
then  place  the  negative  at  the  foot,  and  treat  with 
positive  from  the  knee  downward.  This  being  a 
chronic  affection,  requires  time  to  cure,  if  it 
is  curable,  which  sometimes  is  not  the  case. 

HIP  DISEASE. 

This  is  to  be  treated  like  white  swelling,  even 
when  there  is  a  discharge.  "Wash  the  sore  with 
castile  soap  and  tepid  water. 

FEVER. 

In  a  normal  condition  of  the  system,  the  electrical 
or  vital  currents  flow  from  the  centre  of  vitality  to 
the  periphery  or  surface ;  and,  whether  this  con- 
dition is  disturbed  by  local  or  general  causes,  fever, 
general  or  local,  is  liable  to  follow ;  and  the  mani- 
festation may  be  constant,  intermittent,  remittent, 
typhoid,  or  eruptive. 

If  the  cause  is  local,  we  must  treat  it  according 
to  its  positive  or  negative  symptoms,  with  a  view  to 
restore  normal  action,  or  balance  the  electrical 
polarities  of  the  affected  parts. 

When  there  is  general  feverishness  all  over  the 
body,  with  skin  hot  and  dry,  attended  with  head- 
ache, place  the  feet  in  warm  water  with  the  nega- 
tive S.  0.,  and,  after  moistening  the  hair,  commence 
on  the  head  with  a  very  light  current,  using  the 
open  hand  as  the  positive  electrode,  moistened  with 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  105 

water.  After  a  few  minutes'  treatment  of  the  head, 
increase  the  current,  and  with  a  warm,  moist,  large 
sponge  electrode,  treat  freely  for  fifteen  minutes 
all  the  way  to  the  feet,  being  careful  to  rub  dry  as 
you  finish  each  part.  Keep  all  the  surface  warm. 

After  finishiog  with  the  electrode,  rub  all  over 
with  the  dry,  warm  hand,  and  cover  up  the  patient 
in  bed.  Repeat  the  treatment  as  often  as  the  fever 
returns. 

In  remittent  and  intermittent  fevers,  during  the 
cold  stage,  give  opposite  treatment  to  the  above, 
omitting  the  head,  and  paying  more  especial 
attention  to  the  spine ;  for  that  is  the  great  nervous 
highway  of  the  system,  from  which  all  the  parts 
and  organs  receive  their  nerve- power.  By  this 
treatment,  all  fevers  may  be  cut  short  in  their 
action,  and  fever  and  ague  cured  within  a  week, — 
often  in  one  or  two  days. 

In  eruptive  fevers,  embracing  scarlet  fever,  mea- 
sles, small-pox,  chicken-pox,  &c.,  the  object  must 
be  to  aid  nature  in  throwing  the  morbid  elements 
to  the  surface,  thus  relieving  the  internal  organs 
and  system  generally.  Next,  to  carry  off  the  super- 
fluous heat  and  fever.  The  first  is  done  by  placing 
the  positive  at  the  feet,  and  treating  generally  with 
the  negative ;  the  second  by  reversing  this  treat- 
ment. Finish  the  treatment  by  the  last  mode,  and 
all  will  be  well. 

In  treating  those  parts  where  the  eruption  has 
come  to  the  surface  and  is  discharging,  and  all 


106  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

sores  and  ulcers,  we  cover  the  parts  with  a  moist 
cloth,  wrung  out  of  warm  water,  and  treat  over  tho 
cloth.  This  prevents  the  matter  from  getting  on 
the  sponge,  and  is  more  pleasant  to  the  patient. 
When  the  surface  is  sore  or  tender  to  the  touch, 
the  rubbing  motion  of  the  electrode  should  be 
avoided.  Keep  the  patient  quiet,  and  the  room  of 
even  temperature  but  well  ventilated ;  change  the 
linen  frequently.  Great  care  is  needed  in  relation 
to  diet;  let  the  food  be  light  and  cooling,  even 
when  convalescent.  In  all  fevers,  the  general 
electro-magnetic  bath,  is  one  of  the  most  direct 
means  of  subduing  the  disease. 

In  treating  for  fever  and  ague,  the  liver  and  spleen 
require  special  attention,  particularly  when  either 
or  both  are  enlarged,  or  the  liver  torpid.  Bemem- 
ber,  that  where  you  place  the  positive,  it  induces 
contraction,  and  lessens  engorgement  and  sore- 
ness ;  while  the  negative  increases  actioji,  induces 
relaxation  and  the  elimination  of  morbid  elements. 

CONGESTION. 

General  Congestion  depends  on  a  fulness  of  habit 
in  those  who  indulge  the  appetite,  without  a  proper 
regard  to  exercise  and  healthful  evacuations. 

Local  Congestion  results  from  a  want  of  action,  or 
equilibrium  of  the  circulating  fluids;  from  local 
irritation,  or  mechanical  pressure ;  bruises,  falls ; 
and  mental  emotion,  such  as  joy,  grief,  terror,  or 
fear. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  107 

i 

Treatment. — For  general  congestion,  first  regulate 
the  appetite  and  evacuations.  Seat  the  patient  on 
the  negative  S.  C.,  and  treat  freely  with  the  posi- 
tive, from  the  head  to  the  base  of  the  spine,  paying 
special  attention  to  the  kidneys,  liver,  and  spleen. 
Treat  daily,  as  long  as  necessary. 

For  local  congestion,  treat  the  congested  part  or 
organ  with  the  positive  S.  0.,  placing  the  negative 
on  the  negative  part,  if  such  is  apparent ;  but,  if 
such  cannot  be  detected,  treat  with  the  negative  in 
the  most  convenient  and  appropriate  part.  In 
treating  the  head,  the  hair  must  first  be  moistened, 
and  the  current  light,  so  as  to  feel  pleasant  and 
soothing. 

CHOLEEA-MOEBUS. 

Diagnosis. — Commences  suddenly,  with  sickness 
of  the  stomach,  and  vomiting;  severe  griping 
pains,  accompanied  with  purging,  and  sometimes 
violent  cramps :  at  first  the  discharge  is  a  little 
bilious ;  but  toward  the  last,  the  discharge  is  thin, 
bilious,  and  slimy,  especially  if  accompanied  with 
tenesmus* 

Causes. — Errors  in  diet ;  the  heat  of  summer, 
particularly  when  the  nights  are  cool,  chilly,  or 
humid;  drinking  acidulated  liquids,  or  too  much 
iced  water  when  heated ;  suppressed  habitual 
discharges,  or  repelled  cutaneous  eruptions. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  positive  S. 
0.,  and  treat  freely  with  the  negative,  up  the  spine 


108  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

and  over  the  stomach,  liver,  and  bowels,  following 
the  course  of  the  intestines,  to  the  lower  portion  of 
the  descending  colon.  If  food  is  taken,  let  it  be 
partially  of  milk,  boiled  in  some  way.  Keep  the 
patient  quiet,  and  in  a  recumbent  position.  Treat 
several  times  a  day  if  the  case  seems  to  need  it. 
Keep  all  the  parts  warm,  and  prevent  cramps  by 
treating  the  parts  attacked  both  by  the  hands  and 
the  current. 

CHOLERA,  ASIATIC. 

Diagnosis. — Sometimes  it  commences  with  diar- 
rhoea ;  at  other  times  with  vomiting,  and  spasms 
of  the  muscles  of  the  chest ;  and  frequently  with 
vomiting  and  purging  of  a  substance  resembling 
rice-water,  with  cramps  in  the  muscles  of  the  chest, 
abdomen,  and  extremities,  which  almost  raises 
them  in  knots,  with  tearing  sensations ;  the  surface 
blue,  extremities  cold  and  shrunken;  a  cold, 
clammy  perspiration,  and  burning  thirst ;  yet  the 
consciousness  is  generally  retained. 

Causes. — Most  probably  a  want  of  balance,  or 
equilibrium  of  the  electrical  currents  of  the  atmos- 
phere, or  some  unknown  agent,  which  has  so  far 
eluded  medical  research.  But  the  predisposing 
causes  are  numerous ;  among  which  are  improper 
food  and  drinks,  grief,  terror,  fear  of  an  attack,  ex- 
cesses of  every  kind,  exposure  to  night  air,  &c. 

Treatment. — In  a  normal  condition  of  the  sys- 
tem, the  currents  are  from  the  centres  of  vitality 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  109 

fco  the  surface,  thereby  keeping  the  extremities 
warm ;  but,  in  cholera,  we  find  they  are  reversed 
or  unbalanced.  Our  first  object  is  to  restore  the 
lost  equilibrium,  or  change  the  course  of  the  cur- 
rents, which  are  now  set  inward,  to  their  normal  out- 
ward flow,  and  thus  correct  the  deranged  action  of 
the  stomach  and  all  the  other  viscera.  Hence  we 
place  the  positive  at  the  base  of  the  spine,  and 
with  the  negative  S.  C.  treat  first  up  the  spine  to 
the  cerebellum,  and  afterward  from  the  spine,  all 
over  the  chest  and  abdomen,  paying  special  atten- 
tion to  the  stomach,  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  kid- 
neys, and  small  and  large  intestines.  Commence 
with  a  moderate  current,  and  gradually  increase  it 
as  long  as  it  can  be  endured  with  some  degree  of 
comfort ;  next  treat  the  hands,  arms,  feet,  and 
limbs,  in  the  mean  time  keeping  all  the  parts 
warm,  and,  if  need  be,  do  so  by  means  of  warm 
applications ;  the  vitality  must  be  kept  up,  andihe 
treatment  repeated  every  hour,  if  necessary,  until 
there  is  an  abatement  of  the  symptoms  ;  free  hand- 
rubbing  is  very  good  in  helping  the  circulation. 
During  convalescence,  the  diet  should  be  mild  :  at 
first,  simple  broths,  beef -tea,  rice,  and  toast. 
Great  care  is  necessary  not  to  exercise  too  much, 
or  do  anything  to  cause  a  relapse. 

CHOLERA  INFANTUM. 

This  disease  is  to  be  treated  on  the  same  princi- 
ple as  cholera  morbus;  but  the  current  must  be 


110  MEDICAL  ELECTEIOITY. 

light,  and  adapted  to  the  tender  sensibilities  of  the 
patient. 

DIABEHCEA,   ACUTE. 

Diagnosis  and  symptoms  very  much  resemble 
cholera  morbus :  the  causes  also  are  very  similar. 

Treatment — Same  as  in  cholera  morbus,  with 
such  variations  as  may  seem  best  to  the 
operator. 

DIAEEECEA,   CHEONIC. 

Treatment: — Give  general  tonic  treatment  with 
S.  C.,  then  with  the  positive  P.  G.,  at  the  base  of 
the  spine,  by  means  of  moist  sponge,  or  rectum 
electrode.  Treat  with  negative  over  the  liver, 
stomach,  spleen,  and  bowels,  carrying  it  up  to  the 
shoulder-blades.  Treat  twenty  or  thirty  minutes, 
once  a  day.  It  may  require  several  weeks  to 
'  make  a  cure.  Diet  nutritious  and  soothing,  and 
rest  in  a  recumbent  position. 

DYSPEPSIA. 

Diagnosis. — Pain  in  the  epigastrium,  wind  in 
the  stomach  after  eating,  nausea,  acid  or  bitter 
eructations,  heartburn,  costiveness,  depression 
of  spirits,  languor,  headache,  nervous  prostra- 
tion. 

Causes. — Irregularity  and  excess  in  diet,  indi- 
gestible food,  stimulating  drinks,  sedentary  habits  ; 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  Ill 

using  tobacco,  cathartic  medicines,  and  tonic  bit- 
ters ;  irregular  hours,  and  all  excesses. 

Treatment — First  remove  or  avoid  all  the  causes 
of  the  disease.  Give  general  tonic  treatment  for 
several  clays  ;  then  alternate  with  local  treatment 
by  placing  the  positive  P.  C.  on  the  neck  over 
the  pneumogastric  nerve,  and  treat  with  the  nega- 
tive over  the  stomach,  liver,  spleen,  and  bowels, 
from  the  duodenum  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
descending  colon ;  let  the  current  be  moderate, 
and  the  pressure  of  the  electrode  even.  Next 
bring  the  positive  over  the  spine  opposite  the  sto- 
mach, and  repeat  the  treatment  over  the  organs 
and  bowels.  Let  the  whole  treatment  occupy 
twenty  minutes,  and  give  one  treatment  daily, 
until  the  symptoms  improve  ;  then  every  other  day. 
Let  the  diet  be  soothing  and  nutritious,  and  the 
quantity  moderate,  and  times  of  eating  regular ; 
exercise  moderately  in  the  fresh  air,  and  be  free 
from  all  care.  If  the  bowels  are  constipated, 
finish  the  treatment  by  the  positive  over  the 
bowels,  and  the  negative  at  the  rectum,  either 
with  a  sponge  or  rectum  'electrode.  Sometimes 
a  tepid  injection  of  castile  soap-suds  helps  the 
treatment.  Considerable  tact  is  needed  to  treat 
chronic  cases  successfully,  but  acute  cases  soon 
yield  to  the  treatment.  Patients  often  need  much 
encouragement  and  assurance  of  a  cure ;  for  very 
often  they  have  trietl,  as  they  say,  "  everything," 
before  seeing  you. 


112  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

CONSTIPATION,    OR   COSTIVENESS. 

Causes. — Inactive  liver,  neglect  of  the  calls  o« 
nature.  In  pregnancy,  pressure  of  the  uterus  OB 
the  intestines,  and  many  causes  such  as  produce 
dyspepsia. 

Treatment. — Begin  with  positive  S.  0.  at  the 
rectum,  and  negative  over  the  liver,  spleen,  and 
stomach,  for  ten  minutes ;  then  reverse  the  treat- 
ment for  ten  more.  The  first  increases  the  action 
of  the  organs ;  the  second  promotes  the  opening 
of  the  bowels,  and  the  removing  of  obstructions. 
Chronic  cases  need  perseverance.  Daily  tepid  sitz 
baths  and  a  moist  compress  over  the  bowels  all 
night  aid  in  the  cure. 

DYSENTERY. 

Treatment. — Same  as  for  cholera  morbus,  except 
when  there  is  constipation  :  in  that  case,  finish 
the  treatment  with  the  negative  at  the  base  of  the 
spine,  with  a  moderate  current,  for  five  minutes, 
and  positive  chiefly  over  the  large  intestines,  espe- 
cially the  descending  colon.  Diet  and  regimen  the 
same. 

COLICA,   OR  COLIC. 

Treatment. — If  the  bowels  are  constipated,  pro- 
cure an  evacuation  by  a  tepid  injection  of  water. 
Then  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  and  treat 
freely  with  the  positive  over  the  small  and  large 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  113 

intestines,  with  a  gentle  pressure  all  the  way  from 
the  stomach,  following  the  course  of  the  intestines 
to  the  lower  part  of  the  descending  colon.  Apply 
the  sponge  electrode  as  warm  as  can  be  com- 
fortably endured,  and  continue  until  the  pain 
ceases,  or  for  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time.  All  kinds 
of  colic  are  treated  the  same  except  the  bilious, 
which  requires  more  treatment  over  the  liver. 
Hot  fomentations  are  also  of  great  service. 

ICTERUS,   OR  JAUNDICE. 

Diagnosis. — Yellow  skin,  clay-colored  faeces, 
highly-colored  urine,  loss  of  appetite,  languor,  con- 
stipation, dull  pain  over  the  liver,  induration  or 
organic  disease. 

Causes. — Obstructions  in  the  bile  ducts,  preg- 
nancy, the  too  free  use  of  quinine  and  arsenic  in 
intermittent  fevers,  ardent  spirits,  and  all  other 
preventives  to  the  free  and  natural  action  of  the 
liver. 

Treatment. — If  the  liver  is  enlarged  and  hardened, 
and  not  painful  on  pressure,  apply  the  negative 
S.  0.  over  the  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  and  small  and 
large  intestines,  with  positive  at  the  coccix,  with 
moderate  current,  for  fifteen  minutes.  But,  if  the 
liver  is  sore  and  painful,  reverse  the  treatment ; 
and,  if  constipated,  promote  action  by  tepid  injec- 
tions. Treat  once  or  twice  daily  until  the  liver  is 
restored  to  its  normal  condition. 
8 


114  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

BURNS  AND   SCALDS. 

Treatment. — Same  as  in  inflammation  in  any 
local  part ;  only  the  parts  must  be  covered  with  a 
linen  cloth  saturated  in  olive  oil,  and  the  pressure 
light  as  possible.  Positive  on  the  inflamed  part. 

Frost-bitten  Limbs  and  Chilblains  are  to  be  treat- 
ed in  the  same  manner ;  also  all  kinds  of  wounds 
and  bruises.  When  cloths  or  compresses  are 
needed,  use  water  instead  of  oil. 

CATARRH. 

Diagnosis. — In  acute  cases,  there  is  irritation  or 
inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
frontal  sinuses  and  nostrils,  loss  of  smell,  and 
watery  discharge  from  the  nose  and  eyes.  In  old 
chronic  catarrh,  there  is  pain  in  the  forehead  and 
between  the  eyes ;  the  discharge  is  very  offensive, 
and  often  passes  down  the  posterior  nostrils  to  the 
throat,  causing  a  constant  scraping,  hawking,  and 
gagging,  with  expectoration,  which  is  sometimes 
swallowed  during  sleep,  causing  dyspepsia,  and 
producing  bronchitis  from  irritation  of  the  trachea 
and  bronchial  tubes. 

Treatment. — Catarrh  in  the  acute  form  is  to  be 
treated  by  immersing  the  upper  part  of  the  noso 
and  forehead  in  rather  warm  water,  by  means  of  a 
wash-bowl,  and  a  sponge  of  sufficient  sizo  to  rest 
the  part  upon  in  the  water.  Place  the  positive 
S.  C.  in  the  water  under  the  sponge,  and  with  the 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  115 

negative  treat  the  neck  and  spine  :  if  convenient, 
let  the  patient  hold  the  negative  in  both  hands. 
After  treating  in  this  way  for  five  to  ten  minutes, 
seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  and  treat  with 
the  hand  over  the  nose  and  forehead  to  the  spine, 
for  five  to  ten  minutes  more ;  and,  if  there  are 
symptoms  as  if  the  system  generally  was  suffering 
from  a  cold,  give  general  treatment  over  the  whole 
body,  down  to  the  abdomen  and  base  of  the  spine, 
for  ten  minutes  more ;  repeat  daily,  or  oftener, 
according  to  the  symptoms. 

Common  Colds  have  to  be  treated  as  acute  catarrh, 
except  when  the  surface  of  the  body  is  chilly.  In 
that  case,  seat  the  patient  on  the  positive,  and  treat 
with  the  negative  up  the  spine  to  the  cerebellum,  and 
over  the  body  generally  from  the  spine  all  around, 
until  a  general  feeling  of  warmth  is  felt  all  over 
the  body.  This  establishes  the  natural  flow  of  the 
life-currents  from  the  centre  to  the  surface.  The 
electro-magnetic  bath  is  of  great  service  in  all 
cases  of  colds,  treating  all  over  the  body  with  the 
negative  electrode. 

Influenza. — I  will  here  say,  that  influenza,  from 
whatever  cause,  is  to  be  treated  as  acute  catarrh 
and  common  colds. 

Chronic  Catarrh. — Often  results  from  neglect  of 
proper  treatment  of  the  acute  form,  and  sometimes 
is  the  cause  of  other  affections,  such  as  bronchitis, 
dyspepsia,  and  even  consumption. 

This  form  of  disease  requires  opposite  treatment 


116  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

from  that  of  the  acute,  so  far  as  running  the  cur- 
rents is  concerned,  viz.,  the  negative  must  be 
applied  to  the  parts  affected,  and  for  a  little  longer 
time,  and  the  primary  current;  and,  in  cases  of 
very  long  standing,  the  pure  galvanic,  alternated 
with  the  electro-magnetic,  is  to  be  preferred.  I 
have  known  cases  to  be  cured  in  this  way,  that  had 
existed  from  infancy ;  but  it  frequently  requires 
months  of  steady  treatment  to  make  a  perfect 
cure  :  other  cases  yield  in  from  one  to  six  months, 
but  all  are  improved  from  the  beginning. 

APHONIA,    OB  LOSS  OF  VOICE. 

Causes. — Cold,  a  disease  of  the  trachea ;  a  tumor 
of  the  fauces,  or  about  the  glottis ;  paralysis,  or 
suppressed  eruptions. 

Treatment. — If  from  paralysis,  moisten  the  hair 
on  the  back  of  the  head,  and  treat  with  the  posi- 
tive S.  G.  on  the  cerebellum,  negative  on  the 
tongue,  and  with  the  throat  electrode  for  five  min- 
utes; then  with  negative  over  the  throat,  and 
from  the  ears  down  to  the  sternum,  and  over  the 
respiratory  muscles  of  the  chest  and  abdomen  ;  at 
the  same  time  bringing  the  positive  down  the 
spine,  nearly  opposite  to  the  negative  in  front.  If 
there  is  general  debility,  give  general  tonic  treat- 
ment two  or  three  times  a  week,  and  the  other 
treatment  once  a  day,  for  several  weeks ;  then,  if 
there  is  much  improvement,  not  quite  so  often , 
but  sometimes  the  voice  is  restored  almost  imme- 


A  MANUAL  FOR   STUDENTS.  117 

diately.  If  the  disease  arises  from  other  causes, 
treat  according  to  the  positive  or  negative  symp- 
toms. For  suppressed  eruptions,  give  general 
conic  treatment :  and  a  general  electro-galvanic 
bath. 

PHTHISIS     PULMONALIS,     OR     CONSUMPTION      OF     THE 
LUNGS. 

Diagnosis. — Prominent  symptoms  :  emaciation, 
debility,  cough,  hectic  fever,  loss  of  appetite, 
short  breathing,  quickened  pulse,  purulent  expec- 
toration, blueish  color  around  the  nails,  swollen 
feet  and  limbs,  indigestion,  and  often  a  too  relaxed 
or  constipated  state  of  the  bowels.  Different 
parts  of  the  lungs  may  be  hepatized  or  hardened, 
or  hollow  from  the  breaking  down  and  discharge 
of  tubercles.  Both  conditions  are  readily  deter- 
mined by  percussion  and  auscultation. 

If,  on  inquiry,  we  find  that  the  disease  is  heredi- 
tary, and  it  has  passed  into  the  second  stage,  we 
need  not  expect  to  make  a  cure  ;  but  if  it  is  not 
hereditary,  and  we  commence  before  that  period, 
we  may  hope  to  cure  it.  We  must  try  to  ascertain 
the  cause  or  causes,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  remove 
them.  Sometimes  we  need  to  bring  to  bear  all  the 
resources  of  our  system,  with  a  view  to  eliminate 
from  the  body  the  morbid  elements,  balance  the 
circulation,  and  give  tone  to  the  whole  nervous 
system,  and  through  that  to  all  the  organs,  arrest- 
ing the  farther  deposit  in  the  lungs,  and  promot- 


118  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

ing    the    absorption    of    the     tubercular    matter 
already  there. 

Treatment.  —  When  the  system  is  emaciated,  we 
commence  by  giving  general  tonic  treatment,  for  a 
few  days  or  a  week,  daily.     Then  after  diagnosing, 
if  we  find  very  tender  places  on  different  parts  of 
the  chest,  sides,  or  back,  treat  these  places  with 
the  positive  S.  0.,  very  gentle  current,  placing  the 
negative  on  the  spine,  a  little  below  the  positive. 
When  the  soreness  is  removed,  change  to  the  P.  0., 
and   with  the  plates,   one  on  the  spine  and  the 
other  on  the  chest,  with  moist  cloth  under  each, 
connect  the  back  with  the  positive,  and  chest  with 
the  negative  moderate  current,  and  gradually  move 
them  down  to  the  abdomen  and  lumbar   region. 
Repeat  this  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  rub  the  whole 
surface  with  the  warm  hands.     If  there  is  soreness 
in  the  throat  use  the  throat  electrode  with  positive, 
and  treat  the  neck  and  chest,  to  the  diaphragm, 
with  the  negative  for  five  minutes.     To  improve  the 
circulation  in  the  extremities,  put  the  feet  in  warm 
water,  with  the  negative  S.  0.,  and  treat  with  the 
positive  from  the  chest  to  the  feet ;  next  place  the 
negative    in    the    hands,    and    treat    the    spine, 
shoulders,  and  arms  with  the  positive,  each  occupy- 
ing five  to  eight  minutes.     All  of  this  may  at  first 
be  repeated  daily, — one  part  in  the  morning,  the 
other  in  the  afternoon  or  evening.     The  foregoing 
has  special  reference  to  relieving  pain,  promoting 
absorption    of    morbid    elements,    purifying    tha 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  119 

fluids  (the  blood  in  particular),  balancing  the  cir- 
culation, and  giving  tone  and  vigor  to  the  whole 
system.  But  when  there  is  a  scrofulous  diathesis, 
and  a  general  depravity  of  the  fluids,  with  cutane- 
ous affections,  we  resort  to  the  pure  galvanic  treat- 
ment, in  connection  with  the  foregoing.  This  con- 
sists in  placing  the  patient  in  a  warm,  full  bath, 
and,  with  a  battery  of  from  six  to  twelve  cups, 
treat,  by  placing  the  positive  at  the  feet,  or  base 
of  the  spine,  and  with  negative  treat  over  the 
whole  surface  of  the  body  and  limbs  for  ten  to 
twenty  minutes.  Have  the  room  warm,  and  rub 
the  patient  freely,  from  head  to  feet,  till  the  skin  is 
red.  The  patient  must  be  careful  not  to  go  into 
a  cool  atmosphere  for  thirty  or  forty  minutes. 
This  treatment  opens  all  the  pores,  and  is  for  the 
purpose  of  eliminating  from  the  system  all  morbid 
elements ;  thus  relieving  all  the  organs,  and  at  the 
same  time  restoring  the  equilibrium  of  all  the 
vital  powers  and  circulation. 

HYDEOPS,   OE  DROPSY. 

Dropsy  is  generally  but  a  mere  symptom  of 
some  other  affection.  Its  proximate  cause  consists 
in  an  inflammation,  congestion,  or  exalted  action 
of  the  capillary  extremities  of  the  arterial  vessels 
of  the  serous  and  cellular  membranes,  and  a  torpor 
or  inactivity  of  the  venous  absorbents  of  the  same 
parts.  It  may  be  acute  or  chronic ;  caused  by 
loss  of  blood  and  other  fluids;  genera;!  debility 


120  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

resulting  from  disease ;  mechanical  injuries ; 
obstructions  of  the  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  veins, 
lungs,  and  abuse  of  drugs,  and  stimulating  drinks. 

There  are  six  different  species  of  dropsy,  viz.  :— 

First. — Anasarca,  or  Cellular  Dropsy. 

Second. — Ascites,  or  Abdominal  Dropsy. 

Third. — Hydrothorax,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Chest. 

Fourth. — Hydroceplialus,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Brain. 

Fifth. —  Ovarian  Dropsy. 

Sixth. — Hydrocele,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Testicle. 

The  accumulation  of  fluid  within  the  membrane 
of  the  spermatic  cord  is  termed  Spermatocele,  and 
is  of  the  same  nature  as  Hydrocele. 

Treatment. — In  treating  the  different  species  of 
dropsy,  we  must  first  ascertain  the  cause,  or 
causes,  with  a  view  to  their  removal.  There  are 
two  noted  conditions  to  be  considered.  First,  an 
inflammatory,  congestive,  or  exalted  action  of  the 
capillary  extremities  of  the  arterial  vessels,  which 
needs  to  be  treated  as  all  other  positive  or  in- 
flammatory conditions  ;  and,  second,  the  torpor  or 
inactivity  of  the  venous  absorbents,  which  must 
be  restored  by  general  or  local  tonic  treatment. 

First,  for  Anasarca,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Limbs  and 
peett — Place  the  metallic  girdle  around  the  body, 
over  the  liver,  spleen,  and  kidneys,  to  which 
attach  the  positive  S.  C.,  and,  with  the  negative, 
treat  from  the  spine  down  to  the  feet  for  ten 
minutes  ;  then  attach  the  negative  to  the  band,  and 
make  passes  from  the  feet  upward  to  the  band  for 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  121 

ten  minutes  more.  Next  take  off  the  band,  seat 
the  patient  on  positive,  and  give  a  general  treat- 
ment for  ten  minutes  over  the  whole  body,  finish- 
ing on  the  kidneys,  liver,  stomach,  pancreas, 
spleen,  and  bladder. 

Second,  for  Ascites,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Abdomen. — • 
Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative  S.  C.,  and,  with 
the  positive,  treat  freely,  with  a  moderate  current, 
over  all  the  parts  affected,  for  fifteen  minutes, 
avoiding  much  pressure  over  tender  places.  Next 
seat  the  patient  on  the  positive,  and  give  a  general 
tonic  treatment,  paying  special  attention  to  all  the 
digesting  and  secreting  organs,  and  finish  with 
positive  on  the  kidneys,  and  negative  over  the 
bladder.  Treat  daily  in  this  species  of  dropsy. 
We  must  do  all  we  can  to  promote  natural  action 
of  the  skin,  and  a  healthy  secretion  in  other 
organs,  with  normal  action  of  the  bowels. 

Hydrothorax,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Chest. — Apply  the 
large  chest-plate  to  the  chest,  with  the  positive 
attached,  P.  C.,  and  negative  on  the  spine,  a  little 
below  the  positive.  Move  the  plate  from  side  to 
side,  with  the  current  felfc  slightly ;  pass  the 
negative  over  the  kidneys,  and  gently  lower  both 
on  the  spine  and  abdomen  ;  finish  by  seating  on 
the  negative,  and  treat  with  positive  all  the  length 
of  the  spine.  If  the  dropsy  is  about  the  heart, 
great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  disturb  its  action  : 
the  current  must  be  very  gentle,  and  the  treatment 
only  continued  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  but 


122  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

may  be  repeated  as  often  as  the  case  requires. 
The  same  rules  apply  to  the  action  of  the  skin,  and 
organs  of  secretion,  in  this,  as  the  foregoing 
dropsical  affections. 

Hydrocephalus,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Brain. — If 
treated  early,  it  may  be  cured.  Moisten  the  hair 
all  over  the  head ;  apply  a  moist  cloth,  so  as  to  fit 
closely  all  over  •  then  apply  the  metallic  cap,  with 
positive  P.  C.,  very  gentle,  and  treat  with  the 
negative  all  the  length  of  the  spine,  resting  every 
few  minutes,  and  watching  closely  the  effects.  If 
the  symptoms  are  aggravated,  the  case  is  hopeless ; 
but,  if  relief  is  experienced,  you  may  expect  a  cure. 
Do  all  in  your  power  to  make  your  patient 
comfortable,  especially  keep  the  room  quiet,  and 
well  ventilated,  and  darkened  if  necessary.  Treat 
for  five  to  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  and  as  often  as 
the  case  requires.  Try  to  preserve  a  normal 
action  of  the  skin,  and  all  the  organs  of  the 
system. 

Ovarian  Dropsy,  Tumor,  and  Inflammation. — In 
this  species  of  dropsy,  the  effusion  takes  place 
from  the  internal  face  of  the  membrane  which 
incloses  the  ovarium,  and  appears  in  the  form  of  a 
small  elastic  tumor,  If  there  is  deranged  men- 
struation, first  make  that  function  regular  by 
appropriate  treatment.  Next  seat  the  patient  on 
the  negative  P.  C.,  and  treat  with  the  positive 
gentle  current  over  the  tumor,  and  generally  over 
the  abdomen,  liver,  and  kidneys ;  have  the  patient 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  123 

avoid  all  excitement.  If  there  is  lieat  or  inflamma- 
tion in  the  part,  apply  cooling  moist  compresses  of 
arnica,  frequently  changed.  Promote  action  of 
the  skin  and  kidneys,  and  keep  the  extremities 
warm,  avoiding  all  exposures.  Treat  in  the  same 
manner  for  inflammation  of  the  ovaries.  If  the 
tumor  should  continue  to  enlarge,  after  treatment 
for  several  weeks,  the  cure  may  be  considered 
doubtful,  and  a  surgical  operation,  or  tapping,  may 
be  necessary  as  a  last  resort.  The  first  is 
dangerous,  and  the  second  only  palliative.  Give 
treatment  once  a  day,  or  oftener,  as  the  case  may 
require,  and  occasionally  place  the  feet  in  warm 
water,  with  the  negative. 

Hydrocele,  or  Dropsy  of  the  Testicle. — Treat  the 
enlarged  organ  by  placing  it  in  a  cup  of  tepid 
water,  with  the  positive  S.  C.,  applying  the 
negative  to  the  spine,  spermatic  cord,  and  over 
the  kidneys.  Treat  daily  from  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes,  and  apply  a  suspensory  bandage  if 
necessary.  Avoid  lifting  and  violent  exercise,  and 
frequently  assume  a  recumbent  position.  Bathe 
the  organ  with  alum-water  three  times  daily,  and 
apply  a  compress  of  the  same  every  night  on  re- 
tiring. 

For  Spermatocele. — Seat  the  patient  on  the 
negative,  and  apply  the  positive  S.  C.  gently  over 
the  enlargement,  for  ten  minutes,  once  or  twice 
daily. 


124  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

HEMORRHAGE,   OE  FLOW  OF  BLOOD. 

Hemorrhage  may  be  active  or  passive. 

Active  Hemorrhage  is  generally  a  result  of  con- 
gestion or  increased  circulation. 

Passive  Hemorrhage  occurs  from  a  want  of 
'vitality,  and  a  relaxed  state  of  the  capillaries. 

Treatment. — To  arrest  active  hemorrhage,  treat 
with  the  positive  S.  0.,  on  or  as  near  the  bleeding 
vessels  as  possible,  applying  the  negative  at  some 
distant  or  convenient  point,  and  that  to  which  you 
wish  to  have  the  blood  attracted  to,  finishing  the 
treatment  by  a  general  application,  to  restore  the 
equilibrium  in  the  whole  circulation. 

To  arrest  Passive  Hemorrhage,  treat  as  above, 
until  the  bleeding  ceases ;  then  give  general  tonic 
treatment,  by  seating  the  patient  on  the  positive, 
with  a  view  to  restore  strength  and  tone  to  the 
weak  parts,  which  will  need  treatment  more  than 
the  rest,  using  the  negative  for  that  purpose. 

CANCER. 

Cancer  appears  under  two  forms ;  viz.,  scirrhous, 
or  occult  cancer,  and  ulcerated,  or  open  cancer. 
The  first  is  a  hard,  indolent  tumor ;  the  second,  a 
malignant  ulcer,  discharging  a  sordid,  sanious,  or 
fetid  matter. 

Treatment. — When  we  find  in  the  patient  a 
scirrhous  diathesis,  or  that  either  parent  has  had 
cancer,  a  cure  is  doubtful;  and  if  the  tumor  is 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  125 

indolent,  and  has  not  changed  much  for  years,  it 
had  better  be  let  algne.  But  if  it  is  active,  and 
likely  to  suppurate,  or  if  already  an  ulcer,  then  wo 
must  do  all  we  can  to  effect  a  cure ;  and  our  treat- 
ment will  be  both  local  and  general. 

In  giving  local  treatment  for  the  tumor,  apply 
the  positive  P.  C.  over  the  tumor,  and  negative  on 
the  spine,  a  little  below  the  tumor,  having  the 
current  so  mild  as  not  to  occasion  pain.  Treat 
from  five  to  ten  minutes  at  a  time  ;  then  seat  the 
patient  on  the  positive,  and  give  general  treatment 
with  the  negative  for  ten  minutes  more.  If  the 
tumor  becomes  sore  or  inflamed,  suspend  the  first 
part  of  the  treatment,  but  continue  the  second 
until  it  passes  off.  If  the  tumor  has  lessened,  you 
may  reasonably  hope  for  a  cure,  and  you  may 
treat  as  before ;  but  do  not  allow  the  tumor  to 
suppurate  if  possible  to  prevent  it. 

"When  it  is  a  malignant  ulcer,  cover  it  with  a 
moist  cloth,  and  apply  the  positive  on  one  side, 
P.  C.,  and  negative  on  the  other,  keeping  the  neg- 
ative nearest  the  ulcerated  part.  Treat  thus  for 
ten  minutes ;  then  apply  the  negative  on  the  spine, 
and  circulate  the  positive  all  around  the  ulcer  for 
five  minutes.  Then  seat  the  patient  on  the  positive, 
and  give  general  treatment  with  the  negative, 
except  on  the  ulcer,  for  ten  minutes  more. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  patient  ought 
to  have  a  general  galvanic  bath  twice  a  week, 
with  positive  at  the  feet,  or  base  of  the  spine,  and 


126  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

negative  all  over  the  body,  except  on  the  ulcer. 
This  is  with  a  view  to  eliminate  from  the  system 
all  morbid  elements,  and  thus  remove  the  cause 
of  the  disease. 

In  treating  cancer  of  the  womb,  or  vagina, 
we  use  the  electrodes  for  internal  treatment  on 
the  foregoing  principle.  For  cancer  in  the  stomach, 
we  apply  the  positive  P.  C.  on  the  tongue  and 
pneumogastric  nerve,  and  negative  on  the  stomach 
and  liver;  current  moderate.  In  all  cases,  over- 
exertion  must  be  studiously  avoided,  and  the 
habits  be  regular. 

TUMORS,   GLANDULAR  ENLARGEMENTS,  AND  SWELLINGS. 

Tumors  are  either  malignant  or  non-malignant, 
encysted  or  otherwise,  and  are  hard  or  soft :  they 
are  of  the  consistency  of  honey,  suet,  fat,  marrow, 
or  flesh,  and  may  result  from  a  scrofulous  diathesis, 
or  contusion,  or  local  irritation.  If  caused  by 
scrofula,  a  general  galvanic  treatment  should 
accompany  the  local,  for  the  purpose  of  throwing 
off  the  morbid  elements. 

For  treatment  of  tumors,  apply  the  positive  P.  0. 
over  the  tumor,  and  negative  at  some  convenient 
point,  according  to  the  location  of  the  tumor: 
in  addition,  seat  the  patient  on  the  positive,  and 
give  general  treatment,  both  with  a  view  to  pro- 
mote absorption,  and  favor  the  natural  flow  of  the 
currents  from  the  centre  of  the  periphery.  Some- 
times a  metallic  plate,  of  proper  shape  and  size, 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  127 

makes  a  good  electrode  for  the  tumor.  If  irritation 
occurs,  discontinue  the  treatment  of  the  tumor 
until  it  subsides,  and  never  have  the  treatment 
painful  to  the  patient.  Treat  as  long  and  as  often 
as  the  case  seems  to  require.  The  patient  must 
avoid  all  excitement,  and  be  regular  in  all  his 
habits.  This  treatmeut  applies  to  swellings  of  all 
kinds,  and  enlarged  glands.  The  general  galvanic 
bath  is  good  in  the  treatment  of  tumors,  with 
negative  all  over  the  body. 

SCROFULA. 

Scrofula  depends  upon  a  peculiar,  depraved 
condition  of  the  solids  and  fluids  of  the  system, 
and  gives  rise  to  many  diseased  manifestations.  If 
hereditary,  it  is  generally  incurable,  except  some- 
times in  young  persons  ;  but,  in  the  worst  cases, 
much  improvement  attends  a  thorough  course  of 
galvanic  and  electro-magnetic  treatment. 

Treatment — For  a  scrofulous  diathesis,  and  for  all 
skin  diseases  resulting  therefrom,  a  thorough  gal- 
vanic treatment,  both  in  the  bath  and  locally,  is  the 
only  remedy.  In  the  bath,  place  the  positive  at  the 
base  of  the  spine,  and  treat  with  the  negative,  all 
over  the  body  and  limbs,  from  ten  to  thirty 
minutes ;  then  rub  the  patient  dry  with  a  crash 
towel,  if  the  surface  will  admit;  but,  if  there  it 
skin  disease,  dry  off  as  best  your  can,  keeping  the 
patient  warm,  and  in  the  house  for  half  an  hour  or 
more.  For  local  treatment,  apply  the  negative  to 


128  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

the  parts  affected,  and  positive  at  a  convenient 
point,  being  careful  to  avoid  running  the  current 
through  the  heart,  lungs,  or  any  vital  organs.  The 
length  and  frequency  of  the  baths  must  depend 
on  the  patient's  re-active  power. 

Many  local  affections  of  a  scrofulous  nature  can 
be  treated  successfully  by  the  galvanic  or  pri- 
mary current  of  the  electro-magnetic  instrument, 
marked  A  B,  A  0,  and  A  D,  on  Dr.  J.  Kidder's 
machine  ;  but  A  B  is  more  purely  galvanic  than 
the  rest,  and  is  preferable  for  treating  all  kinds  of 
scrofulous  sores  and  glandular  enlargements,  and 
those  resulting  from  secondary  syphilis,  fever 
sores,  -lumbar  abscesses,  hip-joint  disease,  white 
swelling  (and,  for  scrofulous  opthalmia,  positive  to 
the  eye,  with  eye-glass),  scorbutus,  or  scurvy, 
goitre,  rickets,  carbuncles,  boils,  ulcers,  and  all 
malignant  and  offensive  skin  diseases.  All  the 
above  class  of  diseases  require  to  be  treated  on 
the  same  general  principles.  "When  there  is  an  in- 
flamed condition,  the  part  requires  to  be  treated 
with  the  positive,  and  generally  the  negative,  on 
some  part  of  the  spine,  in  the  hands,  or  at  the 
feet ;  but,  if  the  part  to  be  treated  is  in  the  oppo- 
site condition,  the  currents  are  to  be  reversed,  or 
the  part  treated  from  side  to  side,  or  through  and 
through ;  or  the  treatment  may  be  varied  to  suit  the 
requirements  of  the  case.  The  observing  operator 
can  judge  better  than  any  written  instructions 
can  direct  him  how  to  treat  all  such  affections. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  129 

EPILEPSY,   OR  FALLING  SICKNESS. 

Diagnosis. — The  attack  often  comes  on  without 
any  premonitory  symptoms  ;  but  sometimes  certain 
symptoms  precede  the  attack,  such  as  giddiness, 
dimness  of  sight,  vertigo,  starting  during  sleep, 
difficult  articulation.  Some  feel  a  peculiar  sen- 
sation, called  "aura  epileptica"  like  air  or  water 
running  from  the  feet  and  legs,  ascending  until 
it  reaches  the  head,  when  the  convulsion  sets 
in ;  followed  by  many  distorted  manifestations, 
lasting  from  a  few  seconds  to  three-quarters  of  an 
hour. 

Causes. — The  chief  are  ossification  of  the  brain  ; 
depressed  portions  of  bones  of  the  skull,  or  a  mor- 
bid condition  of  the  cerebral  mass  itself ;  deranged 
states  of  the  stomach  and  bowels ;  repelled  cuta- 
neous eruptions  ;  suppressed  habitual  discharges ; 
debility,  and,  in  females,  womb  displacement, 
retained  or  suppressed  menstruations,  grief,  terror, 
or  fear,  and  secret  indulgence  by  youth  of  both 
sexes. 

Treatment. — First  ascertain  and.  remove  the 
cause  or  causes ;  but,  whatever  may  be  the  cause, 
during  the  paroxysm  there  is  a  congested  state  of 
the  brain.  To  relieve  this,  seat  the  patient  on  the 
negative,  or,  with  the  feet  in  warm  water,  place  it 
there,  S.  C.,  and  treat  with  the  positive  the  whole 
length  of  the  spine,  from  the  neck  down  to  the 
base,  for  five  minutes  ;  then  moisten  the  hair,  and 

9 


130  MEDICAL  ELECTBIOITY. 

change  to  P.  C.,  treating  the  whole  brain  from  front 
to  back,  increasing  the  current ;  then  pass  down 
the  spine  again,  till  consciousness  returns;  then 
make  the  treatment  more  general,  with  a  view  to 
restore  the  equilibrium  of  the  whole  system.  Oa 
the  next  day,  make  a  careful  diagnosis  of  the  sys- 
tem, and,  in  connection  with  general  tonic  treat- 
ment, give  such  local  treatment  as  the  case  requires 
either  to  relieve  engorgements,  subdue  local  irrita- 
tion, or  restore  the  normal  tone  to  any  part  or  organ, 
which  must  be  done  according  to  the  principles 
laid  down  for  the  treatment  of  the  different  organs 
and  parts  of  the  system ;  bearing  in  mind  that  a 
perfect  equilibrium  of  all  the  parts  constitutes 
health,  and  its  opposite  disease  or  disorder. 

Keep  the  patient  quiet  until  fully  restored.  Give 
treatment  once  a  day,  for  a  week  or  two,  having 
him  avoid  all  mental  excitement  and  physical 
exhaustion,  and,  if  a  female,  all  exposures  and 
extremes  of  temperature.  Let  the  diet  be  nour- 
ishing, and  of  easy  digestion. 

APOPLEXY. 

Diagnosis. — Very  much  the  same  as  epilepsy. 

Causes. — Very  similar. 

Treatment. — The  same  as  for  epilepsy  during  the 
convulsion-;  afterward  give  general  tonic  treatment, 
and  such  local  treatment  as  the  case  seems  to 
require.  After  having  found  out  the  cause,  spare 
no  pains  to  promote  its  removal,  whether  it  is  in 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  131 

local  disturbance  or  in  the  improper  habits  of  the 
patient.  Frequently  more  depends  on  the  patient 
than  the  doctor,  as  muck  self-denial  is  often  ne- 
cessary on  his  part.  Restore  the  equilibrium,  and 
maintain  it,  and  there  need  be  no  fears  of  a  second 
attack. 

PARALYSIS,   OR  PALSY. 

Diagnosis. — Paralysis  is  characterized  by  a  par- 
tial or  total  loss  of  voluntary  motion,  or  of  sensa- 
tion, or  both;  it  often  follows  apoplexy,  or  may 
arise  from  disease  of  the  spinal  marrow.  Hemiplegia 
usually  succeeds  apoplexy,  and  paraplegia  disease 
of  the  spinal  marrow.  Local  palsy  affects  some 
particular  part  of  the  body,  as  an  arm,  wrist,  or 
face,  and  may  be  caused  by  mechanical  injuries, 
pressure  from  a  clot  or  effusion,  chronic  inflamma- 
tion, pr  disease  of  the  nervous  tissue,  or  both. 
Wasting  follows  loss  of  voluntary  motion. 

The  perfectly  flaccid  condition  of  the  muscles  of 
the  paralyzed  limbs  denotes  cerebral  lesion,  dis- 
tinctly atrophic  in  its  nature,  and  consequently  a 
negative  state  of  the  part  of  the  brain  affected ;  the 
opposite  of  inflammatory,  in  which  the  vital  powers 
are  beloiv  par.  The  opposite  state  of  the  muscles 
Bhows,  according  to  their  resistive  or  rigid  state, 
the  degree  of  irritation  or  inflammation  and  lesion 
of  the  brain,  and  evince  a  plus  or  positive  con- 
dition. Paralysis  of  motion,  and  paralysis  of 
innervation,  occurs  generally,  not  from  defect 


132  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

in  the  muscular  condition  itself,  but  because  of  an 
interruption  of  the  passage  of  the  nervo-vital  fluid. 

LOCAL  PARALYSIS. 

Treatment. — In  cases  where  the  muscles  are 
rigid,  moisten  the  hair  with  cold  water,  and  apply 
the  positive  P.  G.  to  the  head  and  neck,  with  the 
negative  on  the  spine  and  over  the  affected  muscles, 
even  of  the  face.  Finish  by  using  S.  0.  mod- 
erate power,  using  the  positive  a  little  above  the 
negative,  and  treating  from  the  spine  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  parts  affected.  But,  when  the 
muscles  are  relaxed  and  flaccid,  treat  the  brain 
with  the  negative  P.  0.  for  a  few  minutes ;  then 
change  to  S.  0.,  and  treat  as  above,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  passing  the  positive  over  the  muscles 
and  nerves  of  the  well  and  healthy  parts,  and 
negative  over  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  other. 

HEMIPLEGIA,  OB  PARALYSIS  OF  ONE  SIDE. 

Hemiplegia. — Apply  the  positive  S.  C.  to  the 
brain,  especially  the  cerebellum ;  negative  on  the 
spine  and  down  to  the  foot  for  a  few  minutes,  mod- 
erate current ;  then  increase  the  current,  and  treat 
with  the  positive  over  the  well  side  to  the  spine, 
with  negative  on  the  paralyzed  parts  down  to  the 
abdomen.  Next  pass  the  positive  from  the  neck 
down  the  spine,  and  treat  the  whole  limb  with  the 
negative,  and  finish  by  treating  the  limb  through 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  133 

and  through,  keeping  the  positive  a  little  above 
the  negative  all  the  way  down  to  the  end  of  the 
toes. 

Paraplegia,  or  Palsy  of  the  lower  half  of  the  body. 
— Commence  on  the  head  as  above,  treating  all 
the  way  down  the  spine  with  the  positive,  having 
the  negative  at  the  feet  in  warm  water,  S.  0.,  and 
finish  as  in  hemiplegia.  Treat  once  a  day  for  a 
week  or  two ;  then  three  or  four  times  a  week. 
Put  a  little  salt  in  the  water,  after  leaving  the  head, 
as  it  adds  to  the  intensity  of  the  current.  En- 
courage exercise  of  the  will-power  over  the 
paralyzed  parts ;  administer  frequent  and  vigorous 
rubbing  and  manipulation  with  the  hands,  dipped 
in  warm  salt  water ;  and  let  the  exercise  be 
moderate,  but  not  fatiguing.  Chronic  cases  often 
require  lengthy  treatment,  —  from  one  to  six 
months. 

CHOREA,    OB   ST.   VITTJS'  DANCE. 

^Diagnosis. — Dyspepsia,  nervous  prostration,  con- 
stipation, vertigo,  palpitation,  fulness  in  the  head, 
confusion,  with  variable  states  of  mind,  spas- 
modic muscular  contraction,  growing  stronger  and 
stronger. 

Causes. — Mental  emotions,  disappointed  love, 
religious  enthusiasm,  repelled  eruptions,  sup- 
pressed menstruation,  pregnancy,  parturition :  it 
often  occurs  about  the  age  of  puberty,  and  some- 
times from  vegetable  and  mineral  poisons. 


134  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

Treatment.  —  When  chorea  occurs  in  young 
females  about  the  age  of  puberty,  first  place  the 
patient  in  a  shallow  warm  bath  with  negative  at 
the  vagina,  and  treat  with  positive  S.  0.,  over  the 
lumbar  region,  ovaries,  and  pubes,  with  brisk 
current  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes ;  then  put  the 
feet  in  warm  water,  and  treat  down  the  spine,  and 
over  the  same  parts  down  to  the  middle  of  the 
thighs,  for  ten  minutes,  at  the  same  time  making  a 
few  passes  over  the  breasts.  Give  general  tonic 
treatment  every  alternate  day,  for  a  week  or  ten 
days ;  then  two  tonic  and  two  local  treatments  a 
week  until  well,  or  the  catamenia  is  established ; 
in  the  mean  time  keeping  the  patient  warm  and 
avoiding  all  exposures  to  cold,  &c. 

When  from  repelled  eruptions,  seat  the  patient 
on  the  positive  S.  0.,  and  treat  the  whole  upper 
part  of  the  body  with  the  negative  for  ten  to 
fifteen  minutes.  An  occasional  galvanic  treatment 
in  the  full  bath  is  very  good  to  stimulate  excretion, 
and  quiet  the  nerves.  For  all  other  symptoms, 
give  general  tonic  treatment,  and  such  local 
treatment  as  the  case  requires.  If  there  is  mental 
disquietude,  finish  by  making  passes  with  the 
hands  from  the  head  down  the  spine.  Sometimes 
a  few  treatments  are  sufficient  to  restore  the 
equilibrium,  and  cure  the  patient ;  at  other  times, 
several  weeks  are  required  to  make  a  perfect  cure ; 
but,  by  proper  electrical  treatment,  nearly  all 
cases  can  be  cured. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  135 


TETANUS.      TEISMUS,   OE  LOCK  JAW. 

Diagnosis. — Spasm,  with  rigidity  of  the  muscles 
of  the  entire  body.  The  approach  of  tetanus  is 
generally  gradual,  and  preceded  by  an  uneasy 
sensation  in  the  chest ;  spasmodic  twitching  of  the 
muscles  of  the  throat ;  difficulty  in  swallowing  :  the 
muscles  of  the  jaws  become  rigid,  until  they  are 
immovably  locked. 

Causes. — The  causes  of  tetanus  are  numerous, 
the  chief  of  which  are  mechanical  injuries. 

Treatment. — First  ascertain  the  cause,  and,  if 
possible,  remove  it.  If  caused  by  a  wound,  clean 
it  perfectly,  and  remove  any  foreign  substance 
that  may  be  causing  irritation.  Keep  the  wound 
open  until  the  contraction  is  entirely  subdued. 
Treat  the  wound  on  general  principles ;  and,  to 
cure  the  muscular  disturbance,  seat  the  patient  on 
the  positive  S.  C.,  and  treat  with  the  negative  up 
the  spine  and  over  the  chest,  neck,  jaws,  and  back 
of  the  head,  also  the  shoulders  and  arms ;  and  if 
the  limbs  are  rigid,  treat  from  the  hips  down  to 
the  feet,  rubbing  each  part  dry  as  you  treat  it. 
Treat  every  two  hours  until  the  muscles  relax,  and 
then  give  tonic  treatment  until  the  general  health 
is  well  established.  Keep  constantly  applied  to 
the  wound  pledgets  of  lint,  wet  with  diluted  tinc- 
ture of  arnica. 


136  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 


CATALEPSY. 

Diagnosis. — Catalepsy;  a  sudden  suspension  of 
motion  and  sensation.  It  comes  on  suddenly, 
often  preceded  by  languor,  vertigo,  cephalalgia, 
flatulent  pains  in  tlie  bowels,  depressed  spirits,  and 
obtuseness  of  intellect.  When  the  attack  occurs, 
the  body,  limbs,  and  features  retain  the  same 
attitude  and  expression  as  at  the  moment  of 
seizure. 

Causes. — Uterine  irritation,  especially  in  young 
women;  irritation  of  the  stomach  and  bowels; 
suppressed  habitual  discharges ;  close  application 
to  study ;  and  violent  mental  emotions. 

Treatment. — When  caused  by  uterine  irritation, 
or  obstruction  of  the  menses,  treat  accordingly, 
with  a  view  to  regulate  that  function ;  and  so  for 
other  local  affections :  in  other  words,  remove  the 
causes,  and  catalepsy  will  cease. 

To  relieve  the  attack,  seat  the  patient  on  the 
positive,  and  treat  freely,  with  the  negative  S.  0., 
from  the  base  of  the  spine  to  the  cerebellum,  and 
all  over  the  chest,  shoulders,  arms,  abdomen,  and 
lower  limbs ;  continue  until  the  system  is  restored 
to  its  normal  state,  and  give  tonic  treatment  daily 
for  a  week  or  more.  For  local  difficulties,  treat 
until  all  the  functions  become  healthy  and 
natural 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  137 

SYNCOPE,   OB  FAINTING. 

Diagnosis. — Fainting  is  generally  an  evidence  of 
a  negative  condition  of  the  system,  when  not 
caused  by  an  organic  disease  of  the  heart. 

Treatment. — General  tonic  treatment  is  what  is 
needed,  except  when  it  is  clearly  traceable  to 
some  local  cause ;  and  then  we  treat  accordingly, 
and  give  tonic  treatment  besides  if  necessary. 
Let  the  patient  be  in  a  reclining  position  while 
being  treated,  if  fainting  exists  at  the  time  of 
treatment,  and  bathe  the  forehead,  temples,  and 
face  with  cold  water,  also  holding  a  little  ammonia 
near  the  nose. 

VERTIGO,     OR    GIDDINESS. 

Treatment.  —  Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative 
P.  C. ;  moisten  the  hair,  and  treat  with  the  positive 
from  the  head  down  over  the  chest  and  stomach, 
finishing  with  positive  on  the  pneumogastric  nerve, 
and  negative  on  stomach,  liver,  and  bowels.  If 
caused  by  plethora,  pay  particular  attention  to 
diet ;  if  from  suppressed  eruptions  or  dried-up 
ulcers,  give  general  tonic  treatment,  with  a  view  to 
enable  the  system  to  throw  off  the  morbid  ele- 
ments. 

PALPITATIO  CORDIS,  OR  PALPITATION  OF  THE  HEART, 
AND  HYPERTROPHY,  OR  ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE 
HEART. 

Diagnosis.  —  Sometimes  palpitation  indicates  or- 
ganic disease,  as  in  the  aged,  contraction  of  the 


138  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

organ,  or  ossification  of  its  valves.  Those  of 
delicate  constitution,  lax  fibre,  and  nervous  excita- 
bility, are  very  subject  to  it ;  also  the  young,  from 
rapid  growth. 

Causes.  —  Deranged  state  of  the  stomach  and 
bowels ;  extreme  fatigue  ;  over  exertion ;  change 
of  life  ;  pregnancy  ;  any  violent  mental  emotion  ; 
too  free  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  ;  inequilibrium 
of  the  circulating  fluids. 

Treatment.  —  If  we  find  that  the  disease  results 
from  any  local  cause,  we  must  treat  according  to 
the  positive  or  negative  condition  of  the  organ  or 
part  affected.  If  there  is  enlargement  of  the 
organ,  ossification  of  its  valves,  obstruction,  or 
inflammation,  treat  with  a  gentle  P.  0.  positive 
over  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  negative  on  the 
spine,  a  little  below  the  positive.  Treat  from  five 
to  eight  minutes,  and  finish  with  general  tonio 
treatment,  avoiding  the  heart,  and  using  S.  C., 
with  patient  seated  on  the  positive.  If  there  is 
contraction  of  the  heart,  treat  over  the  heart,  with 
gentle  P.  C.,  negative  over  the  organ,  and  positive 
over  the  cardiac  plexus  on  the  spine.  If  from 
general  nervous  prostration,  general  tonic  treat- 
ment is  all  that  is  needed;  being  careful,  in  all 
heart  and  nervous  affections,  to  begin  with  a  light 
current,  and  gradually  increase  it,  according  to  the 
condition  and  strength  of  the  patient.  Neuralgia 
and  rheumatism  are  to  be  treated  as  enlargement 
and  palpitation,  but  not  as  contraction. 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  139 

ASTHMA. 

Diagnosis.  — Asthma  is  of  two  kinds,  —  dry  and 
humid.  This  disease  often  comes  on  very  sud- 
denly, generally  about  midnight :  the  breathing  is 
very  laborious,  and  wheezing ;  the  chest  heaves 
violently ;  there  is  an  urgent  desire  for  free,  fresh 
cold  air;  the  countenance  is  expressive  of  great 
anxiety ;  face  bloated,  livid,  or  pale  ;  the  veins  of 
the  head  and  neck  turgid ;  heart  palpitates  vio- 
lently ;  pulse  is  irregular  and  intermitting,  and  the 
patient  is  obliged  to  keep  an  upright  position; 
there  is  cough  and  expectoration. 

Causes.  —  Asthma  is  often  hereditary,  and  some- 
times depends  on  a  particular  constitution  of  the 
lungs ;  violent  exercise  ;  cold  ;  changeable  atmo- 
sphere ;  sleeping  in  damp  apartments  ;  getting  wet 
when  heated  by  exercise  :  it  also  sometimes  fol- 
lows measles,  scarlet  fever,  and  other  eruptive  dis- 
eases, and  non-appearance  of  the  menses. 

Treatment.  —  If  the  patient  be  an  adult,  and  the 
disease  is  hereditary,  we  cannot  reasonably  expect 
to  produce  a  permanent  cure  ;  but,  if  the  patient 
is  young,  there  is  ground  of  hope  that  a  permanent 
cure  may  be  effected.  By  learning  the  cause,  and 
removing  it,  the  disease  can  soon  be  cured.  There 
is  often  much  contraction  of  the  diaphragm,  and 
the  respiratory  muscles  generally,  and  partial 
paralysis  of  the  nerves.  Commence  by  moistening 
the  hair  over  the  cerebellum ;  treat  with  the 
positive  S.  0.  over  the  cerebellum,  pneumogastrio 


140  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

nerve,  and  clown  the  spine  to  the  cardiac  plexusi, 
at  the  same  time  using  the  negative  freely  over 
the  pectoral  muscles  and  chest,  diaphragm,  and 
abdomen;  commencing  with  a  moderate  current^ 
and  increasing  it  as  the  patient  can  bear.  Treat 
for  three  to  five  minutes  at  a  time,  and  rest  a 
moment.  This  may  be  continued  for  twenty  to 
thirty  minutes,  and,  if  the  paroxysm  is  on,  until 
entire  relief  is  obtained.  It  is  well,  sometimes,  to 
finish  with  positive  on  the  tongue,  and  negative  on 
the  stomach.  Treat  daily,  or  oftener,  until  a  cure 
is  effected,  and,  if  necessary,  give  general  tonic 
treatment  besides  :  it  is  good  in  any  case.  If 
asthma  is  complicated  with  catarrh  or  dyspepsia, 
give  special  treatment  for  these  diseases.  By 
judicious  treatment  and  perseverance,  nearly  all 
cases  can  be  cured. 

HEAMATURIA,     OR     VOIDING     BLOOD     BY     URINE,     AND 
RETENTION    OF    URINE. 

When  it  passes  off  without  a  desire  to  urinate, 
it  comes  from  the  urethra ;  when  the  urine  is 
mixed  with  blood,  attended  with  pain  about  the 
neck  of  the  bladder  or  perineum,  it  proceeds  from 
the  bladder ;  but,  when  it  comes  from  the  kidneys, 
the  pain  is  in  the  region  of  those  organs. 

Causes.  —  Mechanical  injuries  ;  calculous  con- 
cretions in  the  kidneys  and  bladder,  or  from  their 
lodgment  in  the  urethra ;  also  from  cantharides, 
turpentine,  &c. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  141 

Treatment. —  When  the  trouble  is  in  the  kidneys> 
seat  the  patient  on  the  negative  S.  C.,  and  treat 
with  the  positive  over  the  parts  affected,  and  along 
the  course  of  the  ureters  to  the  bladder.  If  about 
the  neck  of  the  bladder  and  perineum,  treat  these 
parts  with  positive,  and  negative  at  the  feet ;  but, 
if  the  trouble  is  in  the  urethra,  place  the  genitals 
in  a  cup  with  the  positive,  and  the  negative  at  the 
feet.  Treat  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes,  once  or 
twice  a  day,  till  cured.  A  cooling  diet  and  light 
exercise  will  aid  the  cure  :  if  a  recumbent  position 
is  most  agreeable,  enjoy  it. 

For  Retention  of  Urine.  —  Place  the  patient  in  a 
shallow,  warm  sitz-bath,  with  the  negative.     Apply 
the  positive  on  the  spine  and  lumbar  vertebra ; 
treat  ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 
» 

HEMORRHOIDS,   OR  PILES. 

Piles  are  of  two  kinds  ;  viz.,  bleeding  and  blind 
piles.  Piles  are  excrescences  or  tumors  arising 
from  the  interior  portion  of  the  rectum,  or  situated 
on  the  verge  of  the  anus,  and  are  generally  very 
sensitive  and  painful. 

Causes. — Sometimes  hereditary  ;  prolapsus  ani 
during  childhood,  drastic  purgatives,  obstinate 
constipation,  improper  food,  excessive  drinking, 
sedentary  habits,  pregnancy,  and  parturition. 

Treatment.— -If  there  is  constipation,  first  relieve 
the  bowels  b}^  tepid  injections  of  castile-soap  suds. 
If  the  rectum  is  prolapsed,  replace  it ;  then  with 


142  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

the  rectum  instrument  ivdl  oiled,  and  connected 
with  the  positive  P.  C.,  introduce  into  the  rectum 
about  two  inches,  while  the  negative  is  being  ap- 
plied up  the  spine,  and  over  the  stomach,  liver, 
spleen,  and  bowels.  If  the  instrument  cannot  be 
conveniently  introduced  on  account  of  soreness  or 
swelling,  seat  the  patient  on  a  moist  sponge  applied 
to  the  rectum,  and  treat  as  before.  In  old  chronic 
cases,  where  the  tumors  are  very  hard,  a  cautious 
use  of  caustic  will  hasten  their  removal.  A  moist 
compress,  kept  on  the  abdomen  during  the  night, 
helps  to  relieve  constipation.  Particular  attention 
to  diet  is  necessary. 

PROLAPSUS    ANI. 

This  is  caused  by  a  partial  paralysis,  and  re- 
laxed condition  of  the  sphincter  muscle  of  the 
rectum,  and  is  a  very  annoying  weakness,  but  is 
readily  cured  by  electrical  treatment. 

Treatment. — First  replace  the  organ ;  then  intro- 
duce the  rectum  instrument,  positive  S.  C.,  and 
treat  with  the  negative  up  the  spine,  and  over  the 
descending  colon,  on  the  left  side  of  the  abdomen, 
up  to  the  spleen.  In  recent  cases,  a  few  treat- 
ments are  sufficient  to  restore  tone  to  the  muscles 
involved  ;  but,  in  chronic  cases,  one  to  four  weeks 
are  needed.  If  there  is  constipation,  cold  injec- 
tions of  castile-soap  suds  may  be  used  to  clear  the 
rectum,  and  the  patient  should  lie  down  for  an 
hour  or  two  after  treatment.  Bed-time  is  a  good 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  143 

time  for  treatment,  as  it  favors  the  natural  con- 
traction of  the  negative  muscles. 

HERNIA,  OR  RUPTURE. 

Hernia  is  a  protrusion  of  some  of  the  abdominal 
viscera  from  their  proper  place  into  a  sac  formed 
of  a  portion  of  the  peritoneum.  When  it  appears 
in  the  groin,  or  labia  pudendi,  it  is  called  inguinal 
hernia ;  when  the  parts  descend  into  the  scrotum, 
it  is  called  scrotal  hernia ;  when  it  occurs  below 
poupart's  ligament,  it  is  called  femoral  hernia ; 
when  it  protrudes  at  the  navel,  it  is  called  umbili- 
cal hernia ;  when  it  appears  at  any  other  part  of 
the  abdomen,  it  is  called  ventral.  It  is  congenital 
when  it  has  existed  from  birth.  It  may^e  re- 
dueibte,  irredudble,  incarcerated,  or  strangulated 
hernia. 

Treatment. — First  try  to  replace  the  parts  by 
careful  manipulations;  and,  if  you  succeed,  then 
treat  over  the  rupture  with  the  positive  S.  C., 
while  the  negative  is  on  the  spine  above ;  this  is 
for  the  purpose  .of  producing  contraction,  and 
restoring  tone  to  the  parts  relaxed  and  ruptured* 
If,  by  manipulation,  you  do  not  reduce  the  rupture, 
treat  over  and  above  with  the  positive,  keeping 
the  negative  on  the  spine.  After  the  parts  are 
restored,  let  the  patient  lie  down  for  several 
hours  ;  and  if,  after  several  treatments,  the  parts 
are  still  disposed  to  return,  apply  a  suitable  truss 
to  keep  them  in  place,  until  the  contraction  and  heal- 


MEDICAL  ELEOTEICITY. 

ing  is  complete.  It  may  then  be  caref  ally  dispensed 
with;  but  all  hard  lifting  and  violent  exercise  must 
be  avoided.  If  the  parfcs  cannot  be  restored  by 
the  means  already  tried,  a  surgical  operation  may 
be  necessary.  If  there  is  heat  or  inflammation, 
apply  cooling  compresses,  frequently  changed, 
and  moistened  by  diluted  tincture  of  arnica. 

RICKETS. 

Treatment. — In  treating  this  disease,  we  have  a 
double  object  in  view ;  first  to  remove  the  causes 
which  have  brought  on  the  disease,  and  second,  to 
prevent  further  distortion,  and  effect  a  cure. 

Sometimes  the  first  is  impossible,  as  the  cause 
is  hereditary ;  sometimes  the  second  is  possible  ; 
in  either  case,  we  depend  chiefly  on  general  tonic 
treatment,  and  such  local  treatment  ass  the  case 
seems  to  require,  whether  it  be  curvature  of  the 
spine,  protruding  sternum,  or  enlarged  joints. 
Nutritious  food,  strict  cleanliness,  fresh  air,  and 
moderate  exercise,  and  frequent  hand-rubbing 
from  head  to  feet  by  a  healthy  magnetic  person, 
are  very  necessary  to  aid  in  the  case.  Treat 
locally  on  general  principles,  as  the  condition  and 
symptoms  require. 

EEYSIPELAS,   OR  ST.   ANTHONY'S   FIRE. 

This  is  a  febrile  disease,  attended  with  inflam- 
mation of  the  skin  when  it  appears  externally, 
and  of  the  mucous  membrane  when  it  is  internal. 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  145 

The  parts  attached  are  in  a  highly  positive  con- 
dition: hence  the  treatment  must  correspond. 

Treatment. — When  the  parts  affected  are  above 
the  hips,  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  and 
treat  the  parts  affected  with  the  positive  S.  0. 
If  on  the  head,  moisten  the  hair,  begin  with  a 
gentle  current,  and  increase  it  cautiously:  don't 
have  it  feel  painful.  Treat  from  five  to  fifteen 
minutes,  and  repeat  every  few  hours  until  the  in- 
flammation subsides.  If  it  is  internal,  place  the 
positive  on  the  tongue,  with  the  negative  as  above. 
If  it  is  in  the  limbs,  put  the  negative  at  the  feet, 
and  treat  with  the  positive  over  the  affected  parts 
with  moderate  current. 

Powdered  flour  on  the  surface,  or  a  covering  of 
silk  oil-cloth,  is  sometimes  very  desirable.  No 
stimulating  food  and  drink  should  be  taken  :  diet 
must  be  plain.  Care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  cold 
and  damp  atmosphere.  If  taken  early,  sometimes 
one  or  two  treatments  will  arrest  the  disease. 

MENTAL    DEEANGEMENTS. 

This  condition  has  many  phases  of  manifesta- 
tion, and  many  causes  producing  it.  Our  object 
is  first  to  ascertain  the  causes,  and  then  as  far  as 
possible  remove  them  ;  then  restore  the  miitd,  and 
any  organs  or  parts  involved,  to  their  normal  con- 
dition. Sometimes  the  treatment  is  almost  en- 
tirely mental,  and  consists  in  kind  persuasion,  and 
friendly  but  positive  assurances,  that,  by  pursuing 

10 


146  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

a  certain  course,  perfect  restoration  will  take  place. 
But,  when  the  mental  powers  are  so  deranged  that 
reason  cannot  exercise  its  true  functions,  we  must 
do  the  best  we  can  otherwise. 

Treatment. — When  there  is  organic  derangement, 
we  must  treat  the  organ  or  organs  affected  accord- 
ing to  general  principles.  On  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  head,  we  shall  probably  find  one  part 
much  hotter  than  the  rest,  which  indicates  too  much 
action  in  that  part,  while  at  the  same  time  •  the 
extremities  may  be  cold  :  this  shows  an  unbalanced 
circulation.  To  restore  equilibrium,  we  must 
moisten  the  hair,  apply  the  positive  P.  C.,  to  the 
head,  and  place  the  negative  at  the  feet,  and,  in 
addition,  treat  with  the  positive  all  down  the 
spine.  If  there  is  soreness  on  any  part  of  the 
head,  treat  with  a  very  light  current,  and  do  not 
hold  the  electrode  steadily  on  those  parts.  Treat 
the  head  all  over,  and  increase  the  current  when 
treating  down  the  spine,  but  do  not  have  it,  painful 
anywhere. 

If  there  is  emaciation  and  general  nervous  pros- 
tration, alternate  the  local  with  general  tonic 
treatment.  Treat  once  a  day,  or  oftener,  as  the 
case  seems  to  require.  Moderate  exercise  in  the 
open  air,  cheerful  company,  pleasant  social  sur- 
roundings, with  objects  to  prevent  the  mind 
dwelling  on  itself,  are  among  the  conditions  neces- 
sary to  a  restoration.  Wisdom  and  tact  on  tho 
part  of  the  physician  are  very  necessary  to  sue- 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  147 

cessful  treatment  in  these  cases,  as  no  two  will 
require  precisely  the  same  treatment.  Imbecility 
in  youth  and  children  can  often  be  cured  by 
judicious  and  persevering  treatment,  especially 
before  the  faculties  of  the  mind  have  attained 
their  growth. 

MANIA-A-POTU,   OB  DEUBIUM   TBEMENS. 

The  causes  and  symptoms  of  this  disorder  are 
generally  pretty  well  understood.  There  is  great 
nervous  prostration,  with  mental  and  gastric 
derangement. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative, 
moisten  the  hair,  and  treat  the  head  with  the 
positive  P.  C.,  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time  for  ten 
minutes ;  then  increase  the  current,  and  treat  down 
the  spine,  and  over  the  stomach,  liver,  and  bowels. 
Treat  twice  a  day  witii  general  tonic  treatment  at 
night,  omitting  to  treat  the  head  ;  but  the  positive 
may  be  applied  to  the  tongue,  and  the  negative  to 
the  stomach.  Keep  the  patient  quiet  as  possible  ; 
let  the  diet  be  nutritious  but  not  high  seasoned  or 
stimulating,  as  the  stomach  is  very  weak  and 
sensitive. 

HY.POCHONDBIA. 

In  this  disorder,  the  mind  is  in  direct  sympathy 
with  the  stomach,  liver,  and  spleen :  there  is 
generally  great  nervous  prostration,  with  gloomy 


148  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

forebodings  in  relation  to  the  future,  and  indis- 
position to  any  undertaking. 

Treatment. — Commence  by  giving  general  tonic 
treatment,  and  alternate  by  giving  local  treatment 
to  the  stomach,  with  positive  S.  C.  over  the 
pneumogastric  nerve,  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
spine,  and  negative  over  the  stomach.  Then  apply 
the  positive  along  the  spine  above  the  stomach, 
and  negative* over  the  liver,  spleen,  stomach,  and 
bowels.  If  there  is  constipation,  seat  the  patient 
on  the  negative,  and  treat  with  the  positive  over 
the  ascending,  transverse,  and  descending  colon, 
thus  finishing  the  treatment.  If  you  treat  twice  a 
day,  give  the  tonic  treatment  in  the  morning,  and 
local  in  the  evening,  one  hour  before  eating. 
Everything  cheering  and  pleasant,  with  open-air 
exercise,  should  be  enjoyed  by  the  patient. 

HYSTERIA,    OR   HYSTERICS. 

When  we  have  reason  to  believe  the  cause  to  be 
in  some  deranged  action  of  the  reproductive  or- 
gans, we  must  treat  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
deranged  function.  But,  if  we  find  it  to  be  from 
nervous  prostration,  we  must  give  general  tonic 
treatment,  and  such  mental  treatment  as  in  our 
judgment  the  case  requires,  and  endeavor  to 
establish  and  preserve  a  true  balance  of  all  the 
electrical  forces.  Our  success  in  treating  this 
affection  will  depend  on  our  knowledge  of  the 
temperament  of  the  patients,  and  adapting  the 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  149 

treatment  to   their  peculiar  condition.     An  occa- 
sional galvanic  bath  will  aid  much  in  the  cure. 

ALOPECIA,   OR  FALLING    OFF  OF  THE   HAIR. 

This  often  occurs  after  fevers,  especially  if  much 
mercury  has  been  taken.  Protracted  grief,  severe 
headaches,  debility  from  loss  of  animal  fluids,  and 
syphilis,  are  the  chief  causes  of  this  affection. 
The  blood  and  other  fluids  have  been  deteriorated, 
and  the  system  is  in  a  negative  and  impaired 
condition. 

Treatment. — Every  one  knows  how  readily  the 
hair  is  affected  by  electricity,  which  of  course  is 
from  the  connection  of  its  roots  with  the  nerves  of 
nutrition.  To  restore  tone  to  the  whole  nervous 
system,  and  especially  to  those  which  supply 
vitality  to  the  hair,  we  give  general  tonic  treatment 
to  the  whole  system,  by  seating  the  patient  on  the 
positive,  and  treating  with  the  negative  S.  C.  up 
the  spine,  and  over  all  the  vital  organs,  finishing 
with  a  light  current  on  the  head,  after  first 
thoroughly  moistening  the  hair,  and  if  necessary 
washing  the  scalp  thoroughly  with  castile-soap 
suds,  to  cleanse  the 'skin  and  open  the  pores.  A 
treatment  once  a  day  is  sufficient.  An  occasional 
bath,  nutritious  food  at  regular  intervals,  and 
moderate  out-door  exercise,  will  soon  restore  the 
hair,  and  all  the  other  functions  of  the  organism. 


150  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

DEAFNESS. 

As  all  are  aware,  the  ear  is  a  delicate  organ, 
and  is  liable  to  many  diseased  conditions  from 
numerous  causes.  Among  the  first  which,  claim 
our  attention  are  inflammations,  external  or  inter- 
nal, acute  or  chronic,  and  all  painful  conditions, 
from  whatever  cause.  These  have  all  to  be  treated 
on  the  same  general  principle :  as  all  painful 
conditions  show  that  there  is  more  or  less  irrita- 
tion, or  inflammation,  and  a  too  positive  condition 
of  the  parts  affected. 

Treatment  of  inflamed  or  painful  conditions. — 
First  ascertain  the  cause,  if  possible ;  and  if  it  is 
from  the  presence  of  any  foreign  body,  hardened 
ear-wax,  or  excrescences,  examine  the  ear  by 
means  of  an  ear  speculum,  and  with  a  pair  of 
forceps  carefully  remove  the  foreign  body ;  or  with 
an  ear-spoon  remove  as  much  of  the  hardened 
wax  as  possible.  Then  syringe  the  ear  with  tepid 
water  till  the  wax  is  all  removed.  Excrescences 
will  have  to  be  removed  either  by  caustic,  ligature, 
or  the  knife.  To  remove  pain,  and  subdue 
inflammation,  apply  the  positive  P.  C.  to  and 
around  the  ear,  by  means  of  a  sponge  electrode, 
and  internally  by  means  of  the  ear  instrument, 
tipped  with  soft,  moist  sponge  ;  or  the  cavity  may 
be  filled  with  tepid  water,  and  the  tip  of  the  ear 
instrument  just  inserted  in  the  water.  This 
distributes  the  current  all  through  the  nerves, 
both  of  the  meatus,  and  internal  ear.  While 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  15.1 

treating  thus  "with,  the  positive,  let  the  negative  be 
placed  on  the  back  of  the  head  towards  the 
opposite  ear,  on  the  tongue,  and  in  front  of  the 
root  of  the  nose,  and  finish  with  the  negative  on 
the  spine,  below  the  seventh  cervicle  vertebra. 
This  treatment  should  be  continued  daily,  until  all 
pain  and  soreness  is  removed.  Afterwards,  if 
there  is  any  discharge  from  the  ears,  treat  in  the 
same  manner,  but  with  the  negative  where  you 
applied  the  positive  before.  Begin  with  a  very 
light  current,  and  always  avoid  having  it  painfuL 
Treat  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes,  and  protect  the 
ears  by  a  little  fine  cotton  wool  on  going  into  the 
cold  air. 

Deafness,  from  paralysis  of  the  acoustic  nerve, 
is  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  for  a  discharge 
from  the  ear,  with  the  addition  of  general  tonic 
treatment  when  there  is  debility  and  general 
nervous  prostration. 

CEPHALAGIA,   OB   HEADACHE. 

Nervous  Headache. — Treatment. — If  caused  from 
a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head,  moisten  the  hair,  and 
treat  over  the  head  with  positive  P.  0.,  by  means 
of  the  metallic  cap,  moist  hand,  or  sponge  elec- 
trode, at  the  same  time  treating  with  the  negative 
over  the  stomach,  liver,  spleen,  and  kidneys,  for  a 
few  minutes;  then  bring  the  positive  on  the  spine, 
and  increase  the  current,  and  treat  for  ten  minutes 
longer,  passing  the  positive  down  opposite  the 


152  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

stomach.  If  there  is  constipation,  next  seat  the 
patient  on  the  negative  and  treat  freely,  with  a 
little  pressure  all  over  the  bowels,  following  their 
course  from  the  stomach  to  the  descending  colon, 
on  the  left  side,  as  low  as  the  pubes.  Finish 
by  manipulating  the  head  with  the  hands,  without 
the  current,  which  will  equalize  the  nerve  forces, 
and  soothe  the  brain. 

Sick  Headache  is  generally  caused  by  derange- 
ment of  the  stomach  and  liver,  sometimes  called 
bilious. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  to  the  pneurno- 
gastric  nerve,  just  below  the  cerebellum,  S.  0., 
and  treat  over  the  liver,  stomach,  and  spleen  with 
negative,  occasionally  passing  the  positive  down 
the  spine.  If  the  pain  does  not  cease,  moisten 
the  hair,  and  give  the  head  a  light  treatment  with 
the  moist  hand,  positive,  and  P.  0.,  and  finish 
with  manipulation  by  both  hands,  making  the 
passes  downward  along  the  spine. 

If  there  is  constipation,  treat  as  in  nervous 
headache.  As  there  are  many  causes  of  headache, 
and  some  of  them  peculiar  to  females,  the  foregoing 
treatment  may  be  modified  to  meet  the  case  :  keep 
the  extremities  warm  by  appropriate  treatment. 

NOISES  IN  THE   HEAD,   RINGING  IN  THE  EARS,   ETC. 

This  may  be  caused  by  nervous  prostration, 
congestion  of  the  capillaries,  or  the  blood  being 
too  thick,  and  not  circulating  freely. 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  153 

'  'reatment. — If  from  nervous  prostration,  give 
general  tonic  treatment,  with  local  treatment  to 
the  head,  as  in  case  of  deafness.  If  from  conges- 
tion, moisten  the  hair,  and  treat  the  head  and 
ears  with  the  positive,  and  negative  on  the  spine. 
If  the  blood  is  too  thick,  give  tonic  treatment  to 
the  liver,  kidneys,  spleen,  and  surface  generally. 
Drink  freely  of  pure,  soft  water ;  bathe  often,  and 
take  exercise  freely  out-doors,  and  not  think  of 
the  disease  any  more  than  can  be  avoided. 

SPINAL  CURVATURE. 

Spinal  distortions  often  result  from  organic 
affections,  caries  or  injuries  of  the  vertebral 
column,  or  from  osseous  malformation,  as  in 
rickets  and  scrofula ;  but  most  are  the  result  of 
muscular  debility.  In  no  class  of  diseases  has 
medical  practice  proved  itself  more  inadequate  to 
cure  than  in  this.  All  through  the  civilized  world, 
unfortunate  cases  abound,  especially  females, 
whose  backs  have  been  blistered,  burned,  scarred, 
cauterized,  leeched,  cupped,  scarified,  and  other- 
wise treated,  with  the  view  of  counter-irritating  a 
spinal  disease,  when  the  only  trouble  was  nervous 
prostration,  or  muscular  debility.  In  this  condition, 
the  vertebral  column  cannot  be  sustained  erect; 
so  it  bends,  leans,  or  tips  backward,  forward,  or 
to  one  side, — generally  the  latter, — and  no  artificial 
supports  or  drugs  will  remedy  the  evil.  Tone  to 
the  nerves  and  muscles,  locally  and  generally,  is 


154  MEDICAL  ELiLCTKICITY. 

what  is  needed.  "  The  small  of  the  back  "  is  the 
centre  of  the  whole  muscular  system ;  and  no  less 
than  three  hundred  distinct  muscles  are  concerned 
in  the  complicated  movements  of  the  vertebral 
column.  Thence  we  can  easily  understand  how  a 
relaxed  or  weakly  condition  of  the  general  system 
should  contribute  to  a  muscular  distortion  of  the 
spine. 

In  organic  •  or  structural  derangements,  the 
distortion  is  from  within  outward,  forming  a  sharp 
projection  of  the  bones,  called  "  angular  curvature." 
This  often  causes  paralysis  of  the  lower  extremi- 
ties, and  is  seldom  curable ;  whilst  the  other,  or 
lateral  curvature,  can  always  be  cured  if  attended 
to  in  season  :  I  have  cured  such  of  twenty  years' 
standing. 

Treatment. — Do  everything  that  will  improve 
the  general  health,  and  invigorate  the  system. 
Give  general  tonic  treatment,  especially  if  the 
system  is  debilitated,  for  several  days,  or  a  week  ; 
and,  if  the  curvature  is  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
spine,  since  our  object  is  to  cause  contraction  of  the 
relaxed  muscles,  and  relaxation  of  the  contracted 
ones,  and  as  we  know  the  positive  electrode 
causes  contraction,  and  the  negative  relaxation,  by 
means  of  two  insulated  sponge-handles,  we  treat 
over  the  contracted  muscles  with  the  negative,  and 
over  the  relaxed  ones  with  the  positive,  thus 
restoring  the  lost  balance  between  them,  and 
.  curing  the  curvature.  It  is  well  to  apply  a  brisk 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  155 

current,  and  apply  good  pressure,  especially  on  the 
convex  side,  thus  aiding  nature  in  adjusting  the 
cartilages  and  bones;  for,  in  chronic  cases,  the 
cartilages  are  wedge-shaped,  and  often  require  a 
little  artificial  aid  till  they  become  adjusted.  The 
treatment  may  be  varied  by  passing  one  electrode 
down  the  whole  length  of  the  spine,  while  the 
other  is  used  on  the  muscles  that  are  contracted ; 
and  then  change,  by  treating  the  spine  with  the 
other,  the  relaxed  muscles  being  treated  as  before. 
Sometimes  the  curvature  is  double,  and  shaped 
like  the  letter  S ;  treat  each  part  as  a  single 
curvature.  The  patient  must  be  urged  to  stand, 
sit,  and  lie,  in  such  positions  as  will  most  favor 
the  natural  shape  of  the  spine.  A  hair  mattress 
makes  the  best  bed  ;  feathers  must  not  be  used. 
Treat  daily,  for  a  week  or  two,  fifteen  to  thirty 
minutes  at  a  time,  using  S.  C.  If  there  is  spinal 
irritation,  relieve  that  first ;  but,  if  there  is  caries 
of  the  bone,  a  cure  is  doubtful.  Recent  cases  in 
young  people  are  soon  cured;  but  old  chronic 
cases  take  much  longer.  All  cases  can  be  bene- 
fitted. 

SPINAL  IRRITATION. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  negative 
S.  0.,  and  treat  with  positive  over  the  sore  place, 
and  also  over  the  whole  spine.  If  the  irritation  is 
very  low  on  the  spine,  place  the  negative  between 
the  knees,  or  at  the  feet,  and  graduate  the  current 


156  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

according  to  the  feelings  of  the  patienfc,  and  vary 
the  treatment  as  the  case  requires.  Treat  daily 
till  relieved. 

HEPATIZATION  OF  THE  LUNGS. 

This  term  is  applied  to  the  lungs  when  gorged 
with  effused  matter,  so  that  they  are  no  longer 
pervious  to  the  air,  but  resemble  liver  in  appear- 
ance and  consistency.  It  is  a  sequence  of  pneu- 
monia, and  is  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner, 
except  that  the  positive,  and  not  the  negative,  is  to 
be  used  over  the  hepatized  part,  and  negative 
always  below  the  positive. 

NEUBALGIA  OF  ALL  KINDS. 

By  the  term  neuralgia,  we  designate  all  those 
painful  affections,  in  different  parts  of  the  body,  of 
a  purely  nervous  character.  When  in  the  face, 
tic  doloureux  ;  in  the  stomach,  gastrodynia  ;  in  the 
back,  lumbago  ;  in  the  hip  and  thigh,  sciatica  ;  in 
the  feet  and  legs,  neuralgia  pedis,  &c. 

Treatment. — When  the  pains  are  not  local,  but 
appear  in  different  parts  of  the  body,  it  shows 
general  deranged  nervous  action  and  prostration, 
and  requires  general  tonic  treatment,  and  a  re- 
moval of  the  causes  as  far  as  possible. 

When  the  pain  is  local,  and  attended  with  sharp, 
lancinating  pains,  and  redness  and  fulness  of  the 
blood-vessels  in  the  part,  treat  with  the  positive 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  157 

from  the  nervous  terminations  to  the  spine,  and 
-with  the  negative  on  the  spine,  moving  it  slowly 
from  the  roots  of  the  affected  nerves  downward,  if 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  body ;  and  at  the  coccyx, 
if  in  the  back ;  and  at  the  feet,  if  in  the  hips  and 
limbs. 

But  if  we  find  the  parts  affected  to  be  cold  and 
pale,  with  a  soft,  flabby  state  of  the  muscles,  and 
tendency  to  atrophy,  or  wasting,  then  we  know  it 
is  a  negative  condition,  and  requires  the  opposite 
treatment,  alternating  with  general  tonic  treatment, 
and  such  other  measures  as  will  tend  to  improve 
the  general  health.  Gentle  manipulations  over 
the  parts  with  the  warm  hands  are  often  of  great 
service  ;  and  the  more  magnetic  and  healthy  the 
operator,  the  better.  As  the  healing  of  the  patient 
is  our  first  and  only  object,  we  have  no  "iron- 
bedstead  rule "  by  which  to  do  it.  When  the 
eyeball  is  the  seat  of  the  disease,  we  use  the  eye- 
glass ;  and  so  of  the  tongue  or  the  ear.  Sometimes 
I  have  found  that  hot  sponge  electrodes  had  a 
more  soothing  effect  than  cold.  But  the  parts 
must  be  protected  from  exposure  to  cold  immedi- 
ately after  treatment. 

DIABETIS. 

Diabetis  is  an  immoderate  flow  of  urine.  There 
are  two  varieties ;  viz.,  didbetis  insipidis  and  didbe- 
tis  mellitus.  In  the  former,  there  is  an  excessive 
discharge  of  urea  ;  in  the  latter,  large  quantities  of 


158  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY. 

sugar.  In  diabetic  mellitus,  there  is  much  derange- 
ment of  the  digestive  functions,  with  morbid 
appetite,  skin  dry  and  harsh,  weakness  in  the  loins, 
debility,  constipation,  extremities  cold,  swelling  of 
the  feet  and  legs,  with  some  inflammation  and  pain 
at  the  orifice  of  the  urethra. 

In  diabetis  insipidis,  the  thirst,  and  desire  for 
food,  are  less,  skin  not  so  dry,  some  pain  in  the 
back,  with  some  irritation  at  the  neck  of  the  blad- 
der, extending  along  the  urethra. 

Causes. — Exposure  to  cold  ;  too  free  indulgence 
in  highly-seasoned  food  and  spirituous  drinks; 
mercury,  and  violent  mental  emotions. 

Treatment. — Since  the  primary  cause  is  in  the  de- 
rangement of  the  digestive  and  assimilating 
functions,  we  must  try  to  restore  a  healthy  tone 
to  these  departments.  First,  place  the  positive 
S.  0.  on  the  root  of  the  pneumogastric  nerve,  and 
treat  with  the  negative  over  the  stomach,  liver, 
spleen,  pancreas,  and  bowels,  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes.  Then  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative, 
and  treat  with  the  positive  over  the  kidneys,  and 
along  the  course  of  the  ureters,  down  to  the  blad- 
der. Next  seat  the  patient  in  a  tepid  sitz-bath, 
having  the  water  over  the  pubic  arch,  placing  the 
positive  in  the  bath,  while  the  negative  is  at  the 
feet.  This  is  to  reduce  the  irritation  in  the  blad- 
der and  urethra.  Finish  with  the  negative  along 
the  spine,  and  positive  over  the  feet  and  limbs,  up 
to  the  hips  ;  that  is,  if  there  is  swelling  in  the  feet 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  159 

and  limbs ;  if  not,  the  last  part  may  be  dispensed 
with.  Let  the  current  be  as  strong  as  agreeable  to 
the  patient. 

The  preceding  treatment  should  be  alternated  by 
general  tonic  treatment,  as  all  diabetic  patients  are 
more  or  less  debilitated.  If  the  patient  is  too  weak 
to  have  all  the  treatment  spoken  of  administered 
at  one  time,  it  may  be  given  part  at  a  time.  Treat 
daily,  or  oftener  if  needed,  remembering  that  the 
amount  of  treatment  must  correspond  to  the 
patient's  re- active  or  recuperative  power ;  and 
sometimes  this  is  very  limited.  Let  the  diet  be 
light,  nutritious,  and  of  easy  digestion,  with  salt 
enough  to  suit  the  taste.  For  drinks,  give  water, 
milk  and  water,  and  mucilaginous  teas.  Take 
moderate  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and  avoid  gloom 
and  despondency.  Be  cheerful,  hopeful,  and 
happy  as  possible  :  this  aids  the  cure. 

ASPHYXIA,   OR   SUSPENDED  ANIMATION. 

Asphyxia  may  be  caused  by  submersion,  by  a 
stroke  of  lightning,  by  the  inhalation  of  poisonous 
gases,  or  by  a  gradual  loss  of  power  in  the  respi- 
ratory muscles,  and  from  strangulation. 

Treatment. — Our  first  effort  must  be  to  restore 
respiration.  Apply  the  positive  S.  0.  to  the 
pneumogastric  nerve,  and  negative  over  the  chest 
to  the  diaphragm  and  over  the  respiratory  muscles 
of  the  abdomen.  Have  the  current  strong  enough 
to  produce  contraction  and  expansion  of  the  inus- 


160  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

cles.  Make  momentary  pressure  on  the  chest ; 
then  quickly  remove  the  hands,  and  allow  the 
chest  to  expand.  Continue  the  treatment  in  both 
ways  until  the  breathing  is  restored,  or  you  con- 
clude the  case  is  hopeless.  Have  the  room  well 
ventilated,  and  keep  the  body  warm  by  rubbing, 
and  other  artificial  means.  After  restoration,  give 
general  tonic  treatment. 

Asphyxia  of  Neiv-Born  Infants. — Clear  the  mouth ; 
then  gently  blow  into  the  mouth  and  nostrils ; 
press  moderately -on  the  chest,  to  expel  the  air. 
Continue  till  resuscitation  is  established,  or  you 
see  there  is  no  ground  of  hope.  A  gentle  stimulus 
to  the  tongue  and  nose  is  often  of  great  service. 

BECENT  WOUNDS,   CONTUSIONS,  AND  BEUISES. 

Treatment. — If  there  'is  extravasated  blood,  dis- 
coloration, and  soreness,  we  treat  with  the  positive 
P.  C.  over  the  parts,  both  to  produce  contraction  of 
the  engorged  vessels,  promote  absorption,  and  sub- 
due irritation.  Apply  the  negative  on  some  proxi- 
mate healthy  part.  If  the  surface  of  the  wound  is 
broken,  cover  it  with  a  moist  cloth,  and  apply  the 
sponge  electrode  over  that. 

BOILS  AND  FELONS. 

In  their  early  stages,  these  are  to  be  treated  on 
the  same  principles  as  wounds,  &c.,  except  that  the 
hand  or  finger  may  be  put  in  a  bowl  of  water  with 
the  positive,  negative  on  the  spine,  or  in  the  oppo- 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  161 

site  hand,  or  at  the  feet.  If  taken  early,  suppura- 
tion may  be  prevented.  The  treatment  may  be 
repeated  two  to  six  times  a  day,  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  case. 

If  suppuration  takes  place,  it  may  be  hastened 
by  reversing  the  treatment.  An  incision  made  to 
the  bone  is  often  the  most  prompt  way  to  cure  a 
felon.  Cooling  applications  may  be  applied 
with  benefit ;  and,  to  promote  healing,  a  compress 
moistened  with  diluted  tincture  of  arnica,  aids  the 
process.  To  prevent  suppuration,  we  apply  the 
positive  to  the  swelling ;  to  hasten  it,  we  apply 
the  negative. 

CANKER  IN  THE  MOUTH,  AND  SORE  MOUTH. 

Canker  is  a  condition  resulting  from  a  depraved 
state  of  the  fluids  of  the  body,  and  requires  gene- 
ral tonic  treatment  to  remove  the  cause ;  but,  for 
the  mouth,  apply  the  positive  P.  C.  to  the  tongue, 
and  treat  with  the  negative  over  the  sides  of  the 
face,  throat,  and  neck.  What  is  called  sore  mouth 
is  to  be  treated  as  canker  in  the  mouth. 

BUNIONS,   CORNS,   AND   CHILBLAINS. 

Apply  the  positive  to  the  enlarged  and  inflamed 
part,  and  negative  on  some  other  part  of  the 
foot.  Pare  the  corn,  and  with  the  ear-handle,  tip- 
ped with  a  bit  of  sponge  moistened  in  water,  treat 
the  corn,  positive  on  the  corn,  negative  on  some 

11 


162  MEDICAL  ELECTI'ICITY. 

other  part.     Eemove   all  tho  causes,  so  that  the 
effects  may  cease. 

TO   BESTOEE  FROZEN  EARS,   LIMBS,   ETC. 

Seat  the  patient  on  the  positive  P.  0.,  and  treat 
the  parts  affected  with  the  negative.  Continue 
till  the  circulation  is  restored. 

CRICK  IN  THE  NECK. 

This  is  a  painful  rheumatic  affection  of  the  mus- 
cles of  the  neck,  which  causes  a  person  to  hold  his 
head  on  one  side  in  a  characteristic  manner. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  negative  S.  C.  over  the 
contracted  muscles,  and  the  positive  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  Next  pass  the  positive  along  the  spine, 
over  the  dorsal  region,  with  negative  as  before. 
We  sometimes  place  the  positive  on  the  tongue 
also ;  but  this  only  admits  of  a  very  light  current, 
and  is  not  so  effectual  as  the  other  modes. 

CRICK  IN  THE  BACK. 

This  is  to  be  treated  by  seating  the  patient  on 
the  positive,  treating  with  the  negative  along  the 
spine  over  the  part  affected.  This  is  rheumatic ; 
and  to  remove  the  disease,  and  prevent  a  recur- 
rence, we  need  to  give  general  tonic  treatment  over 
the  stomach,  liver,  kidneys,  and  spleen. 

CRAMP   OF  LIMBS,   STOMACH,   ETC. 

Cramp  is  a  local  spasmodic  contraction  of  the 
muscles  of  a  part.  Apply  the  positive  above  the 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  163 

part  affected,  and  negative  over  the  contracted 
muscles.  If  in  the  stomach  or  any  vital  organ, 
apply  the  positive  over  the  roots  of  the  nerves,  and 
negative  over  the  organ.  Commence  with  light 
current,  and  increase  as  required. 

CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD. 

Treatment. — To  promote  a  healthy  circulation  of 
the  blood,  especially  in  the  skin  and  extremities, 
apply  the  positive  S.  0.  to  the  seventh  cervical 
vertebra,  and  treat  with  the  negative  down  the 
spine,  over  the  shoulders,  down  the  arms  to  the 
hands,  then  over  the  chest,  loins,  and  abdomen; 
then  apply  the  positive  over  the  lumbar  vertebra, 
and  negative  down  the  limbs  to  the  feet.  Some- 
times it  is  well  to  place  the  feet  in  a  warm  foot- 
bath, negative  in  the  water.  Brisk  hand-treatment 
should  follow  the  electrical,  and  plenty  of  out-door 
exercise,  with  occasional  general  bathing  and 
rubbing,  which  will  aid  much  in  the  restoration. 

GENERAL  DEBILITY,  NERVOUS  AND   OTHERWISE. 

This  condition  is  induced  by  long  and  constant 
over-taxing  of  the  system.  It  is  an  "  all-run-down  " 
condition,  and  requires  general  tonic  treatment. 
Seat  the  patient  on  the  positive  S.  C.,  and  treat 
with  the  negative  all  over  the  body  and  limbs, 
finishing  on  the  cerebellum,  and  with  a  light  current 
over  the  forehead  and  temples.  Bathing  and 


164  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

rubbing,  as  in  the  preceding,  are  good  here.  Treat 
daily  for  a  week  or  two,  then  three  times  a  week. 
Patients  generally  feel  better  in  a  few  days ;  but 
they  must  continue  until  restored. 

OREANA,  OR  ULCER  OF  THE  NOSE. 

This  is  a  fetid  ulcer  in  the  nose,  sometimes  ma- 
lignant, accompanied  with  caries  of  the  bones,  and 
involving  the  antrum,  frontal  sinus,  and  adjacent 
structures. 

Treatment. — Fill  a  washbowl  two-thirds  full  of 
tepid  water ;  put  in  the  negative  electrode  P.  0. 
and  a  large  sponge ;  let  the  patient  immerse  the 
forehead,  and  as  much  of  the  nose  as  possible,  and 
not  have  the  water  enter  the  nostrils.  Treat  with 
the  positive  up  the  spine  to  the  cerebellum  for  ten 
to  fifteen  minutes ;  then  take  a  small  electrode, 
tipped  with  moist  sponge,  and  treat  inside  the 
nostrils  for  a  few  minutes.  Finish  by  treating  the 
root  of  the  nose  and  forehead  over  the  frontal  sinus 
with  moist  sponge  electrode,  and,  if  necessary, 
alternate  with  general  tonic  treatment.  Treat  daily 
if  necessary. 

POLYPUS. 

This  is  a  tumor  in  a  cavity  of  the  body,  as  in  the 
nostrils,  uterus,  vagina,  &c. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  P.  0.  on  or  over 
the  tumor  if  possible  :  if  in  the  womb  or  vagina,  by 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  165 

womb  or  vagina  instrument ;  negative  on  the  spine 
opposite.  If  in  the  nose,  positive  on  or  in  the 
nose ;  negative  on  the  spine  or  back  of  the  neck. 
Treat  daily  until  removed,  or  you  find  a  surgical 
operation  necessary. 

SLEEPLESSNESS. 

This  condition  has  many  causes,  and  a  little  in- 
vestigation will  usually  reveal  them.  Having 
learned  the  causes,  we  must,  if  possible,  remove 
them,  and  by  soothing  and  tonic  treatment  restore 
the  equilibrium.  Generally  the  mind  and  body 
have  been  overtaxed,  or  prostrated  by  disease  :  in 
any  case  general  tonic  treatment  is  needed.  This 
should  be  given  from  the  first,  and  in  the  morning. 
An  hour  before  retiring,  place  the  feet  in  warm 
water,  with  the  negative  ;  moisten  the  hair,  and, 
with  the  moist  hand  as  the  positive  electrode, 
treat  the  head  with  a  very  light  current,  just  per- 
ceptible to  the  patient,  for  seven  minutes ;  finish 
by  increasing  the  current  a  little,  and  treat  with 
positive  down  the  spine.  Tell  the  patient  to  feel 
no  anxiety  about  sleep,  for  that  tends  to  prevent 
sleep. 

STAMMERING. 

"When  owing  to  serious  malformation  of  the 
tongue  or  other  organs  of  speech,  it  may  be 
incurable ;  but  the  disease  is  generally  spasmodic, 


166  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

and  often  easily  cured.  It  is  well  to  fill  the  chest 
well  before  beginning  to  speak ;  avoid  repeating 
syllables  or  words  ;  but,  if  necessary,  utter  words  or 
syllables  slowly,  to  a  steady  beat  of  the  hand. 

Treatment. — Apply  positive  on  the  tongue,  S.  C., 
negative  over  the  organs  of  speech  and  all  the 
muscles  used  by  the  vocal  organs,  and  over  the 
chest.  Next  place  the  positive  on  the  dorsal 
vertebra,  and  treat  with  negative  up  the  spine,  and 
all  over  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  jaws,  and  chest. 
If  there  is  general  debility,  give  general  tonic 
treatment. 

WEAKNESS    OF      STOMACH,    LUNGS,     HEAET,    AND    FOE 
VOMITING  AND  WATER-BRASH. 

Treatment. — As  the  pneumogastric  nerve  sends 
branches  to  all  of  these  important  organs,  we  treat 
by  applying  the  positive  S.  C.  to  the  roots  of  these 
branches,  and  treat  with  the  negative  from  the 
spine  over  each  organ ;  but  especial  care  is 
needed  to  begin  with  a  light  current,  especially 
over  the  heart.  General  tonic  treatment  is  always 
beneficial  in  these  cases.  In  case  of  vomiting 
and  water-brash,  vary  the  treatment  by  placing 
the  positive  on  the  tongue,  while  the  negative  is 
being  applied  to  the  stomach,  liver,  duodenum, 
and  bowels. 

SUNSTROKE. 

This  is  attended  with  many  symptoms  of  con- 
gestion of  the  brain,  and  requires  prompt  treatment, 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  167 

First  moisten  the  hair,  and  treat  with  metallic  cap 
and  positive  P.  0.,  very  mild,  on  the  whole  head, 
and  down  the  spine,  with  negative  over  the  stomach 
and  liver ;  finishing  with  negative  at  the  coccyx, 
and  positive  down  the  spine.  If  the  stroke  is 
recent,  treat  three  or  four  times  daily.  But,  if 
the  effects  are  of  long  standing,  alternate  the 
foregoing  by  tonic  treatment,  treating  lightly 
over  the  back  brain,  or  cerebellum,  for  a  few 
moments  each  time.  Avoid  all  exposure  to  the 
hot  sun,  and  preserve  as  much  as  possible  an 
equilibrium  of  all  the  forces.  Be  temperate  in  all 
things,  especially  avoiding  mental  excitement. 

TOOTHACHE. 

This  arises  from  various  causes.  When  from 
cold,  place  the  positive  on  the  tongue,  as  near  the 
tooth  as  possible,  and  treat  with  the  negative  P.  G. 
over  the  face  and  neck  and  chest.  But  if  it  is 
from  caries  or  ulceration,  then  apply  the  positive 
directly  to  the  tooth,  with  current  strong  enough 
to  relieve  the  pain,  continuing  to  treat  from  ten  to 
fifteen  minutes,  and  repeat  every  two  hours  until 
cured.  If  pregnancy  is  the  cause,  seat  on  the 
negative,  and  treat  with  the  positive  over  the  face 
and  cerebellum,  and  down  the  spine.  Cease  as 
soon  as  relief  is  obtained.  If  more  convenient, 
the  negative  may  be  held  in  the  hands,  instead  oi 
being  at  the  coccyx. 


168  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

URINARY  CALCULI;  GRAVEL  OR  STONE  IN  THE  BLAD- 
DER. 

The  term  gravel  is  generally  applied  to  the  sand- 
like  concretions,  like  brick-dust  or  small  stones, 
which  form  in  the  kidneys,  and  in  a  few  days  pass 
through  the  ureters  to  the  bladder,  causing  shooting 
pains  down  the  back,  through  the  pelvis,  and  in  the 
thighs,  numbness  of  the  legs,  and  a  retraction  of 
either  testicle.  When  the  ealculous  formation  has 
acquired  a  size  which  renders  it  difficult  to  pass 
from  the  kidney  or  bladder,  it  is  then  termed 
stone,  and  is  known  by  the  following  symptoms. 
Frequent  inclination  to  urinate,  with  severe  pain, 
voiding  it  drop  by  drop.  Sometimes  the  urine 
will  start  in  a  full,  natural  stream,  and  suddenly 
stop,  from  the  calculi  rolling  against  the  orifice  of 
the  neck  of  the  bladder.  The  urine  is  turbid, 
bloody,  or  slimy,  accompanied  with  a  distressing, 
bearing-down  sensation  in  the  bladder,  and  some- 
times, by  sympathy,  causing,  prolapsus  ani. 

Causes. — Of  the  causes  of  this  disorder,  medi- 
» cal  men  are  not  fully  agreed ;  but  among  the  most 
certain  is  a  gouty  diathesis,  hard  water,  saleratus 
in  food,  strong  acids,  fermented  liquors,  much  salt, 
high  living  and  gormandizing,  and  whatever  tends 
to  impoverish  or  deteriorate  the  blood,  and  derange 
the  action  of  the  stomach,  kidneys,  liver,  or  bowels, 
or  the  functions  of  the  skin  and  lungs. 

Treatment. — First  correct  all  the  habits  of  life, 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  169 

and  do  all  in  your  power  to  favor  the  normal  ac- 
tion of  all  the  functions  of  the  organism.  To  aid 
in  restoring  healthy  action  to  all  the  organs  (brain 
included),  give  general  tonic  treatment.  To  cor- 
rect the  morbid  and  gravelly  secretion  from  the 
kidneys,  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative  P.  C.  and 
treat  with  the  positive  over  the  region  of  the  kid- 
neys, and  down  the  course  of  the  ureters  to  the 
bladder,  wherever  there  is  soreness  to  the  touch. 
Treat  also  over  the  liver,  spleen,  stomach,  and 
bowels,  at  the  same  time. 

During  the  passage  of  calculi  along  the  ureters, 
treat  with  positive  over  the  kidneys,  and  negative 
over  the  ureters,  as  this  tends  to  relax  the  tube 
and  relieve  the  pain.  Have  the  sponge  electrode 
as  moist  and  hot  as  it  can  be  endured :  hot  fomen- 
tations ase  also  good. 

To  disintegrate  stone  in  the  bladder,  pass  into 
the  bladder  a  metallic  catheter,  insulated  to  within 
an  inch  of  the  end.  Bring  it  in  contact  with  the 
stone,  P.  0.,  and  negative  pole,  and  with  the  posi- 
tive treat  over  the  bladder,  on  the  spine  and  sides, 
or  on  any  other  part  that  will  enable  you  to  pass 
the  current  through  the  stone.  Have  the  current 
of  such  strength  as  can  be  endured  without  much 
pain.  Treat  in  this  way  for  half  an  hour ;  then 
withdraw  the  catheter,  and  place  the  genitals  in  a 
cup  of  warm  water  with  the  negative,  and  treat 
with  the  positive  over  the  kidneys,  spine  and 
bladder,  for  ten  minutes.  Treat  once  or  twice 


170  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

daily,  and  observe  if  much  of  the  stone  is  passed 
in  urinating.  If  there  is  pain  and  irritation  about 
the  orifice  of  the  urethra,  place  the  penis  in  a  cup, 
with  the  positive  and  negative  at  the  feet ;  treat- 
ing thus  for  five  minutes. 

In  treating  this  disease,  much  skill  and  tact  is 
necessary,  and  a  correct  anatomical  knowledge  of 
the  parts,  as  an  improper  handling  of  the  catheter 
might  cause  much  unnecessary  pain,  and  possibly 
inflammation  of  the  urethra. 

BPJGHT'S  DISEASE  OF  THE  KIDNEYS. 

As  the  cause  of  this  disease  is  in  the  impurity  of 
the  blood,  we  must  remove  that  by  proper  atten- 
tion to  diet,  bathing,  and  exercise  in  the  pure  air, 
and  all  means  within  our  reach  to  effect  that  end. 
If  it  is  from  suppressed  eruptions,  we  must  do  all 
we  can  to  restore  the  normal  action  of  the  skin, 
and  thus  relieve  the  kidneys ;  or,  whatever  are  the 
disturbing  causes,  try  to  remove  them. 

Treatment. — Commence  with  general  tonic  treat- 
ment, and  treat  locally  with  positive  P.  C.  over  the 
kidneys,  and  negative  at  the  coccyx,  following  the 
course  of  the  ureters  to  the  bladder,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, treat  the  stomach,  liver,  and  spleen  in  the 
same  manner.  If  the  disease  is  attended  with 
dropsical  effusions,  treat  as  in  dropsy ;  if  fever, 
treat  as  for  fever ;  and  so  as  regards  any  local  or 
general  symptoms :  for  many  of  the  symptoms  are 
like  those  attending  both  inflammation  of  the  blad- 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  171 

der,  inflammation  of  the  kidneys,  and  urinary 
calculi ;  this  being  the  case,  we  must  vary  the  treat- 
ment according  to  the  symptoms. 

RETENTION   OF  THE  MENSES. 

The  menses  not  appearing  at  the  proper  period, 
is  generally  attended  with  deranged  action,  and 
the  general  health  is  soon  impaired.  The  follow- 
ing symptoms  are  very  common :  dizziness,  faint- 
ness,  determinations  to  the  head,  bleeding  at  the 
nose,  difficult  breathing,  palpitation  of  the  heart, 
peculiar  cravings,  nervous  prostration,  sometimes 
convulsions,  and  St.  Vitus'  dance,  ending  with  con- 
sumption. 

Treatment. — Begin  with  general  tonic  treatment 
Treat  locally  with  negative  S.  C.  under  the  patient, 
in  a  shallow  warm  sitz-bath,  having  the  positive 
attached  to  the  metallic  girdle  around  the  waist ; 
or  treat  with  the  sponge  electrode  over  the  dorsal 
and  lumbar  region,  and  also  over  the  abdomen,  on 
the  ovaries,  and  over  the  womb  :  treat  in  this  way 
for  twenty  minutes.  Occasionally  place  the  feet  in 
warm  water  with  the  negative,  and  treat  with  the 
positive  as  before.  Treat  once  a  day,  and  alter- 
nate the  general  tonic  with  the  local  treatment. 
I  have  never  known  this  treatment  to  fail  if  per- 
severed in.  If  the  courses  do  not  appear  within  a 
month,  and  the  general  health  is  improved,  sus- 
pend the  local  treatment  for  a  week  or  two,  then 
treat  again.  Keep  the  feet  warm,  take  out-door 


172  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

exercise,  and  let  the  diet  be  nutritious  and  easy  of 
digestion  ;  take  a  warm  foot-bath  on  going  to  bed, 
and  occasionally  a  warm  sitz-bath  at  the  same  time. 

CHLOROSIS,   OR  GREEN  SICKNESS. 

As  this  disorder  is  occasioned  by  retention  of 
the  menses,  the  same  treatment  is  appropriate, 
except  when  there  is  palpitation  of  the  heart.  In 
that  case,  the  current  must  be  applied  very  gently 
in  the  region  of  that  organ ;  and,  if  it  is  only  sym- 
pathetic, general  tonic  treatment  is  all  that  is 
needed  to  regulate  the  heart.  Diet,  exercise,  &c., 
as  in  retention. 

AMENORRHCEA,   OR  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE    MENSES. 

This  implies  a  "  temporary  cessation  of  the  men* 
ses  :"  headache,  dizziness,  and  congestion  of  the 
head,  chest,  and  stomach,  are  frequent  symptoms. 

Causes. — Chiefly  cold  from  wet  feet,  violent  men- 
tal emotions,  general  prostration,  and  improper 
diet. 

Treatment. — If  there  is  congestion  of  the  head, 
chest,  or  stomach,  seat  the  patient  in  a  warm  sitz- 
bath,  with  the/ negative  S.  0.,  and  treat  with  the 
positive  from  the  cerebellum,  down  the  spine,  over 
the  lungs  and  stomach ;  then  over  the  lumbar  and 
sacral  nerves  ;  and  lastly  over  the  abdomen,  ova- 
ries, and  uterus.  Alternate  this  treatment  by 
placing  the  feet  in  warm  water  with  the  negative, 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  173 

and  treat  the  spine,  abdomen,  ovaries,  and  uterus 
with  the  current  positive,  pretty  strong.  Diet 
light  and  cooling. 

DYSMENOEEHGEA,   OE   PAINFUL   OE  DIFFICULT  MEN- 
STEUATION. 

This  disorder  is  accompanied  with  severe  pains 
in  the  back  and  loins,  and  also  in  the  ovaries  and 
abdomen.  With  some,  it  seems  constitutional ;  but 
cold,  and  improper  living,  is  often  the  cause. 

Treatment. — As  in  amenorrhoea,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  the  vaginal  instrument  applied  internally, 
with  negative  and  positive  on  the  lumbar  nerves, 
and  over  the  ovaries  and  uterus.  This  may  also 
be  applied  with  advantage  in  amenorrhoea  when 
the  case  requires  it. 

LEUCOEEHCEA,   FLUOE  ALBUS,   OE  WHITES. 

This  affection  is  very  debilitating.  It  is  caused 
in  various  ways,  but  chiefly  by  uterine  displace- 
ments, exposures  to  cold,  laxity  of  parts,  mechani- 
cal injuries,  and  uterine  diseases. 

Treatment. — When  leucorrhcea  is  caused  by  irri- 
tation, apply  the  vaginal  instrument,  with  positive 
P.  0.,  internally,  and  negative  along  the  spine, 
over  the  abdomen,  hips,  ovaries,  and  uterus,  finish- 
ing on  the  spine,  between  the  shoulders.  But  if  it 
is  caused  from  relaxation  and  general  debility,  and 
of  long  standing,  treat  internally,  with  the  nega- 


174  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

tive  and  positive  on  the  spine,  &c. ;  and  give,  be- 
sides, general  tonic  treatment.  Considerable 
time  is  often  required  to  cure  chronic  cases.  The 
whole  treatment  may  occupy  twenty  minutes  each 
day.  To  aid  the  cure,  use  tepid  vaginal  enemas  oi 
castile  soap  and  water  two  or  three  times  daily. 

MENORRHAGIA,   OR  IMMODERATE    FLOW    OF    THE    MEN- 
SES,   OR    FLOODING. 

This  is  flooding,  or  hemorrhage  from  the  uterus, 
and  characterized  by  pain  in  the  back,  loins,  hips, 
and  abdomen.  It  is  caused  by  violent  exertions, 
falls,  active  cathartics,  dancing,  and  everything 
that  tends  to  debilitate. 

Treatment. — This  disease  is  somewhat  dangerous 
from  liability  to  excessive  loss  of  blood,  and  re- 
quires prompt  and  efficient  treatment. 

Connect  the  womb-director  with  the  positive 
S.  C.,  and  bring  it  in  contact  with  the  os-tincia,  or 
mouth  of  the  womb  ;  apply  the  negative  on  the 
spine  and  upper  part  of  the  abdomen.  Com- 
mence with  a  light  current,  and  gradually  increase, 
until  it  is  sensibly  felt  in  the  uterus.  Treat  for 
ten  minutes  in  this  way,  and  then  wait  to  see  the 
result.  It  is  not  always  best  to  stop  the  flow  sud- 
denly, as  it  might  cause  congestion  of  the  brain,  or 
some  vital  organ.  Treat  from  one  to  three  times 
daily,  and  after  the  flooding  ceases  give  general 
tonic  treatment  by  seating  on  the  positive.  Diet 
nutritious,  and  easy  of  digestion. 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  175 

IEEEQULAE  MENSTEUATION. 

For  premature  appearance  of  the  menses,  give  gen- 
eral tonic  treatment,  commencing  soon  after  tha 
flow  ceases,  and  continue  until  next  time.  As 
relaxation  or  general  debility  are  the  chief  causes, 
the  above  treatment  is  very  appropriate;  but  it 
may  be  varied  according  to  the  symptoms  or  re- 
quirements of  the  case. 

For  delay  of  the  menses,  and  when  they  do  not 
continue  long  enough,  treat  as  in  painful  menstru- 
ation, having  recourse  to  the  warm  hip  and  foot 
baths. 

When  the  discharge  continues  too  long,  treat  as  in 
menorrhagia,  or  flooding,  giving,  also,  general 
tonic  treatment ;  and,  if  not  from  plethora,  let  the 
diet  be  nutritious  and  of  easy  digestion ;  and  in 
all  cases  keep  the  bowels,  kidneys,  skin,  and  other 
functions  of  the  body,  as  perfect  as  possible. 

CESSATION  OF  THE  MENSES,   OE  CHANGE  OF  LIFE. 

This  change  occurs  at  about  the  forty-fifth  year, 
and  is  often  attended  with  many  disturbances  of 
the  different  functions  of  the  body.  It  may  truly 
be  said  to  be  the  "  critical  period ;  "  but,  as  it  is  a 
natural  change,  if  we  have  lived  in  harmony  with 
nature's  laws  before,  it  is  seldom  attended  with 
danger.  Our  treatment  is  not  to  prevent  it,  but  ra- 
ther to  hasten  and  smooth  the  way  to  its  consum- 
mation; and,  to  do  this  in  the  best  manner,  our 


176  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

treatment  will  have  to  be  varied  according  to  the 
condition  and  symptoms  of  the  patient.  As  they 
are  so  varied,  no  precise  instruction  can  be  given, 
except  to  treat  according  to  the  general  principles 
of  our  philosophy  and  mode  of  treating  diseases 
and  unbalanced  conditions. 

PREGNANCY,   OB  UTERO-GESTATION. 

Although  ntero-gestation  is  a  natural  process, 
yet  there  are  many  conditions  connected  with  it 
that  may  be  greatly  modified,  and  much  comfort 
insured  by  a  little  judicious  treatment ;  but  here, 
again,  the  amount  and  kind  will  depend  on  the  con- 
dition and  symptoms.  Yet,  in  all  cases  of  debility 
and  nervous  prostration,  general  tonic  treatment  is 
always  beneficial.  To  remove  spots* on  the  face, 
apply  the  positive  P.  C.  to  the  spots  and  face 
generally,  and  negative  on  the  kidneys,  liver,  and 
spleen,  with  weak  current. 

ABORTION,   OR  MISCARRIAGE. 

As  all  are  aware,  this  is  liable  to  occur  at  any 
time  from  conception  to  the  seventh  month ;  and 
after  that  time  it  is  called  premature  labor.  Now, 
as  electro-magnetism  is  admitted  to  be  the  great- 
est emenagogue  in  nature,  we  know  by  its  positive 
and  negative  polarities  that  it  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing the  greatest  muscular  contraction  or  re- 
laxation of  any  known  agent.  Therefore,  in  threat- 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  177 

el*.  «1  abortion,  we  need  its  prompt  contracting 
power.  Apply  the  positive  S.  €/.,  by  means  of  the 
womb  or  vaginal  director,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
womb,  or  to  the  vagina  and  womb  by  means»of 
the  vaginal  instrument ;  at  the  same  time  applying 
the  negative  to  the  spine  and  upper  part  of  the 
abdomen.  In  addition,  cold  compresses  may  be 
applied  over  the  womb  ;  for,  upon  the  arrest  of  the 
hemorrhage,  and  firm  contraction  of  the  uterine 
vessels,  does  the  safety  of  the  foetus  depend. 

On  this  principle  it  will  be  evident,  that  by  re- 
versing the  poles,  the  opposite  results  are  likely  to 
follow,  for  abortion  has  been  known  to  follow  its 
application.  Of  course  the  persons  most  liable  are 
those  of  lax  fibre,  nervous  temperament,  or  great 
debility.  Great  caution  is  therefore  needed  in  its 
application,  being  sure  that  the  positive  and  nega- 
tive are  applied  to  the  right  parts ;  for  the  most 
dangerous  feature  in  these  cases  is  the  hemor- 
rhage. If  the  miscarriage  has  gone  too  far  to  be 
arrested,  the  same  treatment  may  be  applied  after 
the  foetus  and  placenta  are  discharged,  to  prevent 
or  arrest  hemorrhage.  Cold  compresses  on  the 
abdomen  and  cold  vaginal  injections  are  often  of 
great  service  to  prevent  abortion. 

PARTURITION,   OR  DELIVERY. 

This  is  one  of  nature's  processes;  and  if  all 
women  were  perfectly  dev-eloped,  and  lived  in  har- 
mony with  nature's  laws  before  and  during  preg- 

12 


178  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

nancy,  there  would  be  little  need  of  artificial  aids 
in  parturition,  and  it  would  be  attended  with  but 
little  suffering.  But,  as  it  is,  such  aids  are  often 
needed ;  and,  in  cases  where  the  natural  powers 
become  exhausted,  nothing  is  so  prompt  and  po- 
tent to  restore  natural  and  powerful  uterine  con- 
tractions as  electro-magnetism,  when  properly  and 
scientifically  applied.  This  I  know  by  practical 
experience.  And,  when  we  consider  its  power  to 
arrest  hemorrhage,  we  cannot  help  feeling  sur- 
prised that  our  medical  brethren  should  have  paid 
so  little  attention  to  this  subject,  seeing  that  so 
many  precious  lives  might  be  saved,  and  much 
suffering  prevented,  by  a  timely  and  proper  use  of 
this  powerful  agent. 

Treatment. — To  induce  uterine  contraction,  ap- 
ply the  womb  director  with  a  piece  of  delicate 
moist  sponge  attached,  negative  S.  C.,  to  the  os- 
uteri,  with  the  positive  on  the  abdomen  over  the 
fundus.  Apply  it  for  as  long  a  time  as  the  pains 
ought  to  continue,  then  resting  until  time  for  ano- 
ther pain.  In  this  way  natural  uterine  contraction 
will  soon  be  established ;  and  the  labor  will  keep 
progressing  to  a  successful  termination,  provided 
the  presentation  is  natural,  and  there  is  no  real 
•want  of  capacity  or  deformity  of  parts.  If  profuse 
hemorrhage  should  follow,  it  must  be  treated  as  in 
cases  of  flooding. 

Nothing  aids  so  much  in  restoring  tone  to  the 
whole  system,  as  a  little  tonic  treatment  a  few 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  179 

days,  after  delivery,  and  continued    until   perfect 
restoration  to  full  tone  and  vigor. 

DEFICIENT    SECRETION  OF  MILK. 

To  promote  the  secretion  of  milk,  apply  the 
positive  P.  C.  to  the  spine  above  the  shoulders, 
and  treat  with  the  negative  over  the  breasts  from 
above  downward;  treat  for  ten  minutes,  two  or 
three  times  a  day. 

SUPPRESSION  OF  MILK. 

This  is  to  be  treated  as  above.  Let  the  diet  be 
generous,  using  plenty  of  milk  in  both  cases. 
Warm,  moist  compresses  applied  frequently  to  the 
breasts  aid  the  secretion. 

SORE  NIPPLES. 

% 

Apply  the  positive  by  means  of  the  eye  instru- 
ment, filled  with  diluted  tincture  of  arnica,  to  the 
nipple,  with  negative  P.  C.  between  the  shoulders. 
If  the  nipples  crack,  apply  sweet  cream.  Bathe 
the  nipples  with  diluted  tincture  of  arnica,  immedi- 
ately after  nursing,  carefully  washing  it  off  with 
milk  and  water  before  nursing  again.  A  solution 
of  borax  is  good  to  harden  the  nipples,  and  aids  in 
removing  the  soreness. 

AGUE  IN   THE  BREAST. 

This  painful  condition  of  the  breasts  is  generally 
caused  by  cold  or  some  obstruction. 


180  MEDICAL  ELECTEICITY. 

Treatment. — If  there  is  general  fever,  -with  head- 
ache, place  the  negative  at  the  feet,  and  treat  all 
over  with  the  positive,  beginning  at  the  base  of  the 
brain ;  and,  for  local  treatment,  treat  over  the 
breasts  with  the  positive  P.  0.,  and  negative  on  the 
spine  a  little  below  the  positive. 

GATHERED  BREAST. 

Treat  as  for  ague  in  the  breast  until  all  the  hard- 
ness and  swelling  subsides.  Compresses  of  diluted 
arnica  are  serviceable  in  both  conditions,  both  to 
take  out  the  soreness  and  reduce  inflammation. 

ABSCESSES   OF  ALL  KINDS. 

Lumbar  and  other  abscesses  commence  with  in- 
flammation, either  spontaneously  or  from  disturb- 
ing causes  or  local  injuries. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  to  the  swollen  or 
inflamed  part,  S.  0.,  and  treat  with  the  negative 
at  some  distant  and  convenient  point.  If  suppu- 
ration cannot  be  prevented,  it  may  hasten  the 
cure  to  probe  the  swelling  at  the  softest  and  most 
prominent  point,  and  allow  it  to  discharge.  While 
this  is  going  on,  treat  for  a  few  times  over  and 
around  the  swelling;  then  treat  as  at  first  until 
well. 

If  it  arises  from  scrofula,  give  the  galvanic  and 
bath  treatment  as  soon  as  convenient,  to  eliminate 
the  morbid  elements  from  the  system.  If  the 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  181 

swelling  causes  general  fever,  alternate  the  local 
with  general  treatment,  as  in  case  of  fever.  In 
lumbar  abscess,  there  is  sometimes  swelling  in  the 
groin,  which  discharges,  and  cures  the  abscess : 
this  has  sometimes  been  mistaken  for  hernia.  In 
treating  swellings  and  inflamed  parts  with  the 
positive,  it  is  well  to  have  the  negative  on  some 
part  below  the  positive,  because  it  is  more  sooth- 
ing to  the  parts  to  run  the  current  with  the  nervous 
ramifications  than  against  them,  or  in  the  opposite 
direction, — just  as  it  makes  less  commotion  in  the 
water  when  sailing  with  the  current  than,  when 
rowing  up  stream. 

VARICOSE,    OR  ENLARGED  VEINS. 

Varicose  veins  during  pregnancy,  when  in  the 
limbs,  are  caused  by  the  impregnated  uterus  press- 
ing upon  the  vena-cava,  thereby  obstructing  the 
free  return  of  the  blood  to  the  heart.  But  other 
causes  produce  similar  effects ;  yet  all  are  to  be 
treated  on  the  same  principles. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive,  S.  0.,  a  little 
below  the  varicose  parts,  with  negative  a  little 
above,  and  pass  them  up  the  limb,  a  short  distance 
from  each  other,  toward  the  heart.  The  veins 
being  relaxed,  require  the  contracting  influence  of 
the  positive.  It  is  well  sometimes,  in  addition,  to 
apply  bandages  or  laced  stockings,  and  to  occupy 
a  recumbent  posture,  avoiding  exercise  as  much  as 
possible,  and  bathing  the  limbs  frequently  in  cold 


182  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

water.  In  chronic  cases  of  men,  it  requires  some 
time  to  make  a  permanent  cure.  If  it  is  caused  by 
the  blood  being  too  thick,  that  must  be  changed  by 
proper  food  and  drink,  plenty  of  pure  air,  and  fre- 
quent bathing.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the  neg- 
ative may  be  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
limb,  while  the  positive  is  pressed  freely  on  the 
enlarged  veins,  and  both  carried  up  as  before. 

NURSING   SORE   MOUTH. 

When  not  constitutional,  this  depends  on  a  dis- 
ordered condition  of  the  digestive  organs  and 
salivary  glands. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  to  the  tongue, 
P.  0.,  and  the  negative  on  the  stomach,  liver,  and 
spleen,  for  ten  minutes.  Then  seat  on  the  nega- 
tive, and  treat  with  the  positive  over  the  kidneys, 
liver,  spleen,  stomach,  and  intestines,  from  the 
duodenum  to  the  lower  part  of  the  descending 
colon ;  and,  if  there  is  constipation,  give  tepid 
injections  of  soft  water,  until  permanent  relief  is 
obtained,  which  will  be  as  soon  as  the  digestive 
organs  regain  their  tone. 

PUERPERAL   OR  CHILD-BED  FEVER,   AND  INFLAMMATION 
OF  WOMB   AND   OVARIES. 

The  conditions  that  mark  this  disease  are 
inflammation  of  the  womb  and  its  appendages 
(fallopian  tubes  and  ovaries),  the  peritoneum  (the 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  183 

lining  membrane  of  the  abdomen),  or  bowels,  or 
all  three,  accompanied  with  general  fever.  This 
is  a  dangerous  disease. 

Treatment. — For  local  treatment,  if  convenient, 
place  the  patient  in  a  full,  warm  sitz-bath,  positive 
P.  C.  in  the  bath,  and  negative  at  the  feet  in 
warm  water.  But,  if  this  is  not  convenient,  treat 
over  the  bowels,  ovaries,  and  womb  with  the 
positive  sponge  electrode,  and  negative  at  the  feet, 
mild  current,  ten  to  twenty  minutes ;  and,  for 
general  fever,  treat  with  the  positive  from  the  head 
down  to  the  feet,  according  to  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  repeating  the  treatment  every  few  hours 
until  the  symptoms  improve.  If  there  is  consti- 
pation, relieve  by  tepid  soothing  injections,  and 
observe  all  the  rules  of  diet,  as  in  other  fevers. 
Be  sure  to  prevent  accumulation  of  milk  in  the 
breasts  ;  keep  the  room  well  ventilated,  and  quiet 
as  possible  ;  and  have  the  patient  avoid  all  effort 
to  move  about.  Keep  the  head  cool,  by  moist 
cloths  wrung  out  of  cold  water  applied  to  the  fore- 
head and  temples,  and  the  disease  will  soon  be 
subdued.  Give  occasional  tonic  treatment. 

PHLEGMASIA  DOLENS,   OR  MILK-LEG. 

Treatment. — Place  the  negative  at  the  feet,  and 
treat  with  the  positive  over  the  affected  parts,  and 
the  limbs  generally,  P.  C.,  giving  tonic  treatment 
as  soon  as  convenient,  to  restore  the  normal  tone 
to  all  the  organs  and  nervous  system  generally. 


184  MEDICAL  ELECTBICITY. 

ULCEBATION   OF  THE  WOMB. 

If  from  scrofula,  treat  generally  as  for  that 
condition,  and  also  apply  the  positive  by  means 
of  womb  instrument,  P.  C.,  to  the  os-uteri,  and 
negative  on  the  spine  above  the  lumbar  region. 

ENLABGEMENT  OF  THE  WOMB. 

If  from  engorgement,  apply  the  positve  S.  C. 
internally  by  womb  instrument,  and  also  over  the 
womb,  and  negative  on  the  spine,  liver,  spleen, 
and  kidneys.  Treat  daily  :  keep  the  bowels  reg- 
ular, and  see  that  the  menses  are  natural  and 
regular. 

INDUBATION,   OB  HARDENING  OF  THE  WOMB. 

If  the  organ  is  contracted,  apply  the  negative 
B.  0.  both  internally  and  externally,  over  the 
organ  and  ovaries,  with  positive  on  the  spine,  and 
over  the  kidneys,  stomach,  liver  and  spleen.  Also 
sit  the  patient  in  a  warm  sitz-bath  with  the  nega- 
tive, and  treat  with  positive  as  before. 

PBOLAPSUS  UTEBI,   OB  FALLING  OF  THE  WOMB. 

Antiversion,      Retroversion,      and     Inversion,     of 
Prolapsus  oftlie  Vagina. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  annoying  and  formidable 
derangements  to  which  woman  is  liable ;  and  any 
means  which  are  available,  and  reliable  as  a  cure, 
must  be  a  real  blessing  to  every  one  suffering  from 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  185 

that  cause.  We  are  bold  to  affirm  that  electro- 
pathy, as  a  means  to  that  end,  is  unparalleled,  not 
only  for  falling  of  the  womb,  but  for  all  derange- 
ments peculiar  to  that  sex.  Volumes  might  be 
written,  descriptive  of  all  the  means  used  and 
theories  advanced  for  the  relief  and  cure  of  this 
and  kindred  disorders,  and  yet  woman's  sufferings 
continue ;  and  this  will  continue  until  woman  is 
better  acquainted  with  her  own  functions,  and 
obeys  the  laws  which  govern  the  healthy  action 
of  these  functions. 

Among  the  most  prominent  causes  which  induce 
morbid  conditions  are  tight  lacing,  and  heavy  skirts 
wholly  suspended  from  the  waist,  thus  compress- 
ing the  chest,  and  pressing  downward  all  the 
viscera  of  the  abdomen  and  pelvis.  This  produces 
relaxation  and  weakness  of  all  the  muscles  and 
tissues,  and  prolapsus,  antiversion,  retroversion, 
and  inversion,  or  what  is  called  prolapsus  of  the 
vagina,  which  together  make  the  worst  form  of 
prolapsus  uteri.  There  are  other  causes  which 
tend  to  produce  these  results,  such  as  constipation, 
improper  food,  nervous  excitement,  amative  indul- 
gence, over-exertion,  too  long  standing  on  the  feet, 
injuries  in  childbirth,  and  want  of  proper  exercise  : 
young  and  old  are  both  subject  to  these  derange- 
ments. Whatever  exhausts  vitality  in  a  woman 
may  be  a  cause  of  prolapsus  uteri.  To  live  aright, 
dress  aright,  and  refrain  from  all  causes  of  ex  - 
haustion,  observing  every  condition  of  health,  are 


186  MEDICAL  ELECTBICITY. 

amongst  the  means  of  a  speedy  and  permanent 
cure.  There  is  never  prolapsus  without  dyspepsia 
and  general  debility,  besides  innumerable  other 
symptoms  too  numerous  to  mention. 

Treatment.  —  In  curing  prolapsus  uteri,  we 
restore  the  organ  to  its  normal  position ;  and,  that 
being  accomplished,  we  cure  antiversion,  retrover- 
sion,  and  inversion,  or  prolapsus  of  the  vagina,  for 
none  of  these  'can  exist  without  prolapsus  uteri, 
and  relaxation  of  the  walls  of  the  vagina. 

Now,  as  dyspepsia,  general  debility,  and  nervous 
prostration,  generally  accompany  these  affections, 
local  treatment  for  dyspepsia,  and  general  tonic 
treatment,  must  accompany  the  treatment  for 
prolapsus.  To  treat  prolapsus  and  its  kindred 
ailments  successfully,  we  must  bring  all  the  relaxed 
parts  under  the  influence  of  the  positive  or  con- 
tracting pole.  We  therefore  apply  the  large  silver 
or  vaginal  instrument  internally,  and  press  the 
womb  up  to  its  proper  and  natural  position,  con- 
necting it  with  the  positive  pole,  using  the  S.  C., 
and  at  the  same  time  apply  the  negative  with  the 
large  sponge-handle  on  the  spine,  and  over  the 
stomach,  just  above  the  diaphragm.  Have  the 
current  as  strong  as  can  well  be  endured.  Treat 
for  fifteen  minutes  in  this  way;  then  have  the 
patient  lie  on  her  back,  place  the  negative  on  the 
seventh  cervical  vertebrae,  and  withdraw  the  vagi- 
nal instrument,  treating  with  the  positive  over  the 
womb,  ovaries,  sides,  and  spine,  as  high  as  the 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  187 

hips,  and  over  the  abdominal  muscles  generally. 
The  patient  ought  to  keep  a  recumbent  position 
for  several  hours  after  each  treatment,  and  avoid 
being  much  on  her  feet  until  the  parts  have  become 
firm,  and  the  organs  remain  permanently  in  their 
proper  places.  Gold  vaginal  injections,  cool  sitz- 
baths,  and  cold  bathing  of  the  abdomen,  often  aid 
in  the  cure,  especially  if  there  is  irritation  of  any 
of  the  internal  surfaces,  or  the  womb,  or  ovaries, 
&c.  Treat  once  a  day,  or  alternate  with  the  other 
treatment.  This  treatment  persevered  in  will  cure 
ninety-nine  in  a  hundred,  though  of  years  standing. 

BILIOUSNESS. 

The  above  term  is  generally  made  use  of  to  ex- 
press diseases  and  conditions  arising  from  a 
derangement  of  the  liver  and  biliary  organs,  and  is 
applied  to  colic,  diarrhoea,  fevers,  &c.,  attended 
with  general  biliary  derangement,  and  sometimes 
dyspepsia. 

Make  a  thorough  diagnosis,  and  treat  generally, 
and  locally  according  to  the  causes  and  symptoms. 
See  Inflammation,  Enlargement,  Torpid  Liver,  &c., 
also  Jaundice. 

FISTULA  IN  ANO. 

This  is  an  orifice  or  opening  from  a  cavity,  ab- 
scess, or  a  local  inflammation  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
rectum;  discharging  pus,  or  thin,  gleety,  dis- 
ordered matter,  and  not  disposed  to  heal. 


188  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

Treatment. — If  there  is  an  opening  into  the  rec* 
turn,  pass  the  rectum  instrument,  well  oiled,  into 
the  rectum.  Positive  P.  0.  with  negative  all 
around  the  fistula  outside.  Let  the  current  be 
gentle  ;  treat  once  or  twice  daily,  and,  if  it  begins 
to  heal,  continue  till  well.  Treat  on  the  same 
principles  as  for  ulcers.  Keep  the  bowels  free  by 
injections,  if  necessary;  avoid  violent  exercise, 
very  salty  food,  and  all  stimulants. 

SALT  EHEUM. 

This  disease  manifests  itself  by  a  dry  eruption, 
forming  fissures,  caused  by  the  skin  becoming  dry 
and  cracking,  from  which  a  sharp,  watery  serum 
exudes,  quite  corrosive  in  its  character. 

Treatment. — The  same  as  in  scrofulous  sores  and 
skin  affections.  The  pure  galvanic  current  is  the 
'best,  or  the  A  B  current  on  Dr.  Jerome  Kidder's 
machine,  or  Primary  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hall's  machine. 

SPEEMATOEEHCEA,   OE  SEMINAL  WEAKNESS. 

This  disease  results  from  excessive  secretion  and 
discharge  of  semen,  and  is  caused  by  mastur- 
bation, excessive  venery,  or  nocturnal  emissions, 
Among  the  earlier  and  prominent  symptoms  of 
this  disorder,  there  is  a  marked  impairment  of  the 
mental  faculties ;  the  patient  is  unable  to  concen- 
trate his  mind  upon  his  business  or  books;  his 
memory  becomes  treacherous,  his  physical  powers 
are  weakened,  his  courage  and  energy  fail,  he  is 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  189 

languid  and  debilitated,  becomes  hypochondria- 
cal  and  misanthropic,  has  fearful  forebodings,  is 
dyspeptic,  loses  flesh,  sometimes  becomes  ex- 
tremely emaciated  ;  and  all  this  without  evidence 
of  real  organic  disease.  In  this  disease,  there  is 
irritation  established  in  or  about  the  setninal 
ducts,  which  convey  the  secretion  from  the  tes- 
ticle. There  are  also  other  causes  of  irritation, 
such  as  gonorrhoeal  lesions,  mechanical  obstruc- 
tions, irritants  in  the  rectum  pressing  upon  the 
vesicular  seminales  or  prostate  gland,  hemorrhoi- 
dal  fissures,  prostatitis,  or  even  from  stricture  of 
the  urethra. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  ascertain  the  true  cause 
of  the  irritation  on  which  the  seminal  flow  depends. 
The  patient  often  dislikes  to  make  a  frank  disclo- 
sure of  the  facts  concerning  his  own  case,  though 
the  essential  ones  may  be  known  to  him  alone  ; 
yet  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  true  causes  often 
aids  in  the  successful  treatment  of  the  disease. 
The  physician  should  strive  to  gain  the  unbounded 
confidence  of  his  patient,  and,  having  gained  it, 
should  regard  it  as  a  sacred  trust,  never  to  be 
violated. 

Masturbation  must  be.  entirely  abandoned,  at 
any  sacrifice,  or  it  may  end  in  insanity,  dementia, 
or  catalepsy.  The  cheerful  and  grateful  influences 
of  good  society  are  indispensable ;  but,  unfortu- 
nately for  the  sufferer,  there  is  a  disposition  to  avoid 
society  of  all  kinds,  especially  that  of  females. 


L90  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

How  lamentable  the  thought,  that,  for  the  lack 
of  a  little  knowledge  imparted  to  youth  at  the 
right  time,  tens  of  thousands  are  suffering  all  the 
terrible  consequences  of  their  ignorance,  in  im- 
paired and  broken-down  constitutions ;  all  their 
hopete  of  future  usefulness  and  happiness  entirely 
blasted ;  and,  what  is  equally  deplorable,  not  all 
the  skill,  aided  by  all  the  prescribed  drug  reme- 
dies of  the  schools,  has  yet  proved  adequate  to 
cure  the  disease  ;  and  the  poor  sufferer,  as  he  has 
failed  under  one,  has  fled  to  another,  only  to  be 
disappointed,  and  bereft  of  all  hope  of  ever  finding 
relief. 

Happily  for  the  sufferer,  this  does  not  apply  to 
our  mode  of  treating  this  and  all  kindred  diseases, 
as  thousands  can  testify,  whom  we  have  entirely 
cured  after  all  other  means  had  been  tried  in  vain. 
This  we  do  not  say  boastingly ;  but  we  feel  bold  to 
affirm  what  we  know  to  be  true,  and  feel  prepared 
to  prove  by  actual  demonstration. 

Treatment. — As  there  is  frequently  emaciation 
and  general  debility  accompanying  this  disease, 
it  is  well  to  give  general  tonic  treatment  for  a  few 
days  or  a  week  at  first,  using  S.  C.,  arid  commenc- 
ing with  the  current  very  light,  finishing  this  part 
of  the  treatment  by  a  few  passes  on  the  cerebel- 
lum or  back  brain,  manipulating  with  both  hands 
but  without  the  current,  over  all  the  head. 

To  remove  irritation  from  the  genital  organs, 
and  proximate  parts,  place  the  positive  under  a 


A  MANUAL  FOB  STUDENTS.  191 

large  sponge  in  a  shallow  sitz-bath,  of  a  tempe- 
rature to  be  comfortable  to  the  patient.  Treat 
with  the  negative  up  the  spine  to  between  the 
shoulders,  and  over  the  stomach,  liver,  and  spleen : 
have  the  current  pleasant  to  the  patient ;  treat  in 
this  way  for  ten  to  fifteen  minutes,  rub  dry,  and 
then  finish  with  a  general  rubbing  with  the  dry, 
warm  hand.  If  the  irritation  is  confined  to  the 
urethra  and  testicles,  the  testicles  and  penis  may 
be  inserted  with  the  positive  in  a  cup  with  tepid 
water,  and  the  negative  applied  as  before  ;  or  if 
the  irritation  is  confined  to  the  rectum,  the  patient 
may  be  seated  on  the  positive,  or  the  rectum  in- 
strument may  be  used.  After  the  irritation  has 
been  subdued,  and  we  desire  to  give  tone  to  all  the 
parts  involved,  treat  with  the  positive  on  the  spine 
from  the  back  brain  downwards,  and  over  the  kid- 
neys, negative  in  the  bath,  or  cup,  or  seated  on  the 
sponge  as  before.  It  requires  from  one  week  to 
three  months  to  cure  these  cases ;  but  an  improve- 
ment will  be  experienced  almost  from  the  begin- 
ning in  the  worst  cases,  and  often  in  recent  cases 
a  cure  can  be  effected  in  a  week.  Cold  com- 
presses, cold  sitz-baths,  and  frequent  bathing  of 
the  parts  in  cool  or  cold  water,  both  allays  the  irri- 
tation, and  aids  in  giving  tone  to  all  the  organs 
and  parts  involved.  The  diet  may  be  nutritious, 
but  not  stimulating.  All  stimulants  must  be 
avoided,  and  the  exercise  taken  must  be  gentle  and 


192  MEDICAL  ELECTKICITY 

at  regular  intervals.     If  there  is  dyspepsia,  or  any 
other  distinct  disease,  treat  accordingly. 

IMPOTENCE. 

I 

This  condition  is  generally  induced  by  excessive 
sexual  intercourse.  Married  men,  both  young  and 
middle-aged,  with  others,  often  find  themselves  in 
this  unpleasant  dilemma.  I  have  cured  many  of 
this  class  without  one  particle  of  medicine. 

Treatment. — First  cease  to  attempt  sexual  inter- 
course until  the  power  is  restored.  If  the  general 
health  and  tone  of  the  system  is  impaired,  com- 
mence by  a  course  of  general  tonic  treatment. 
Afterward  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative,  either 
on  the  sponge  or  in  a  cool  sitz-bath,  or  place  the 
genitals  in  a  cup,  S.  C.,  and  treat  with  the  positive 
on  the  spine,  back  brain,  and  over  the  kidneys  and 
abdomen,  with  a  moderate  current.  In  treating 
on  the  spine,  treat  freely  over  the  lumbar  region ; 
treat  daily  for  ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  Let  the  diet 
be  nutritious,  but  not  stimulating.  Bathing  as  in 
spermatorrhoea,  with  moderate  exercise  in  the 
open  air. 

SWELLING  AND  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  GENITALS. 

Treatment. — Place  the  organs  in  a  cup  or  sitz- 
bath,  with  the  positive  S.  C.,  and  treat  with  the 
negative  up  the  spine,  over  and  above  the  lumbar 
region.  Treat  several  times  daily,  if  necessary,  or 
according  to  the  urgency  of  the  case.  Frequent 


A  MANUAL  FOE  STUDENTS.  193 

cool  or  cold  sitz-baths  are  good ;  let  the  diet  be 
cooling,  and  avoid  walking ;  keep  a  recumbent 
position  as  much  as  possible.  This  treatment 
may  be  varied  by  placing  the  negative  at  the  feet. 

SWEATING  OF  THE   GENITALS. 

Treatment. — Place  the  organs  in  a  cup  or  sitz- 
bath,  with  negative,  and  treat  with  positive  P.  0. 
over  the  kidneys,  spine,  and  abdomen.  Give  general 
tonic  treatment  if  needed,  and  have  the  patient 
take  a  general  bath  three  times  a  week,  and  a  cool 
sitz-bath  on  alternate  days.  Keep  the  bowels 
regular,  and  avoid  all  extremes  of  eating,  drinking, 
and  exercise :  treat  daily  from  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes. 

SYPHILIS,   OK  VENEREAL  DISEASE. 

This  loathsome  disease  shows  itself  in  every 
variety  of  form  ;  from  mere  primary  symptoms,  to 
the  most  foul  and  disgusting  ulcers,  affecting  nofc 
only  the  genitals  and  other  soft  parts,  the  eyes, 
nose,  mouth,  throat,  and  skin,  but  also  producing 
caries  of  the  bones.  It  is  caused  by  a  poisonous, 
infectious  principle,  which  can  only  act  from  con- 
tact, the  smallest  particle  of  which  when  brought 
in  contact  with  an  abraded  mucous  surface,  is 
sufficient  to  produce  a  local  disease,  and,  from  its 
absorption,  to  affect  the  entire  system.  Locally, 
the  disease  consists  of  chancres,  or  venereal  ulcers, 
which  suppurate  ;  and,  if  the  infectious  matter  is 

13 


194  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

re-absorbed,  the  blood  becomes  poisonous,  and 
the  whole  train  of  secondary  syphilitic  affections 
are  liable  to  follow. 

Treatment, — In  treating  this  disease,  the  pure 
galvanic  current  is  preferable  to  any  other ;  but 
the  primary  current  of  the  machine  answers  very 
well.  In  treating  with  the  galvanic,  six  to  eight 
cups  may  be  used.  Treat  on  the  part  affected 
with  the  positive ;  and,  if  on  the  penis,  treat  on 
the  opposite  side  with  the  negative.  As  this  cur- 
rent is  chemical  in  its  action,  we  depend  on  that 
to  neutralize  the  virus  of  the  ulcer  ;  but,  if  it  comes 
to  suppuration,  either  cauterize  with  nitrate  of 
silver,  or  with  a  paste  made  of  sulphuric  acid, 
mixed  with  powdered  vegetable  charcoal,  in  the 
proportions  necessary  to  form  a  half-solid  paste. 
It  is  proposed,  by  this  application,  to  destroy  the 
poison  and  convert  the  chancre  into  a  simple 
wound,  which  will  proceed  rapidly  to  cicatrization, 
At  the  same  time  give  homeopathic  mercurius, 
third  trituration,  in  some  form,  one  grain  night 
and  morning,  until  the  skin  of  the  sore  looks  na- 
tural and  healthy,  and  like  the  other  skin.  Treat 
with  the  galvanic  current  once  or  twice  daily,  as 
the  case  seems  to  require.  If  there  is  a  swelling 
in  the  groin,  treat  over  the  swelling  with  the 
positive,  and  seat  the  patient  on  the  negative ; 
but,  if  suppuration  takes  place,  use  slippery  elm 
and  flaxseed  poultice,  giving  the  internal  remedy, 
the  same  as  before.  Avoid  all  exposure  to  cold, 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  195 

and  let  the  exercise  be  gentle.  Avoid  all 
stimulants,  and  let  the  diet  be  soothing  and 
nutritious,  but  free  from  stimulating  spices. 

SECONDARY   SYPHILIS. 

Secondary  syphilis  consists  in  the  introduction 
of  a  poison  into  the  blood  ;  and  the  care  of  it  in 
the  neutralization  of  that  poison,  and  healing  of 
the  parts  affected. 

Treatment. — If  it  appears  upon  the  skin,  in  sores 
or  blotches  of  any  kind,  give  the  patient  a  general 
galvanic  bath.  Place  the  positive  either  at  the 
feet,  or  at  the  base  of  the  spine,  and  treat  all  over 
the  surface  with  the  negative,  especially  those 
parts  occupied  by  the  discolorations  or  sores. 
Treat  from  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes ;  then  rub  dry, 
and,  if  the  air  is  cool,  keep  the  patient  in-doors 
for  half  an  hour.  Give  this  treatment  every 
other  day,  and  on  alternate  days  treat  locally, 
either  with  the  primary  current  or  the  pure 
galvanic. 

If  the  throat  is  affected,  treat  with  the  positive 
in  the  mouth,  and  negative  on  the  spine.  Treat 
all  external  sores  with  the  positive  or  negative, 
according  to  their  positive  or  negative  condition. 
Remember  that  it  is  more  important  to  effect  a  che- 
mical change  in  treating  this  disease,  than  to 
induce  polar  action.  Give  homeopathic  mercurius, 
one  grain  every  other  day,  and  sulphur  on  the 
alternate  days,  until  well.  The  great  majority  of 


196  MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

these  cases  are  curable  in  a  short  time  :  we  seldom 
fail  in  any. 

NODES. 

It  is  all  important  that  these  hardened  tumors 
should  be  removed  as  soon  as  possible,  and  sup- 
puration prevented. 

Treatment. — Apply  the  positive  P.  C.,  or  the 
pure  galvanic  to  the  node,  and  either  seat  on  the 
negative,  or  place  it  at  the  feet.  Vary  the  treat- 
ment by  treating  through  and  through,  giving  the 
internal  remedies,  as  in  secondary  syphilis. 

GONOEEHCEA. 

This  is  a  purulent,  greenish-yellow  discharge 
from  the  urethra  in  males,  and  from  the  vagina  in 
females,  attended  with  heat,  swelling,  and  inflam- 
mation of  the  parts,  with  burning  and  scalding 
during  micturition,  and  painful  erections. 

Treatment. — Seat  the  patient  on  the  positive 
P.  0.,  in  a  tepid  shallow  sifcz-bath,  and  apply  the 
negative  on  the  spine,  over  the  dorsal  vertebra,  for 
fifteen  to  thirty  minutes ;  or  place  the  metallic 
band  around  the  body,  over  the  liver,  and  kidneys, 
with  negative  and  positive  in  the  bath  ;  or  place 
the  genitals  in  a  cup,  with  positive  and  negative 
as  above.  Use  the  vaginal  instrument,  same  pole, 
for  females.  Give  homeopathic  mercurins  cor.  daily, 
in  one  grain  doses,  third  trituration.  Should  the 
discharge  continue  after  most  of  the  local  inflain- 


A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS.  197 

mation  has  subsided,  make  use  of  a  weak  solution 
of  nitrate  of  silver,  as  an  injection ;  and  for 
females,  a  solution  of  soluble  mercury  in  water,  as 
a  vaginal  injection.  Inject  two  or  three  times  daily. . 
Avoid  all  high-seasoned  food,  and  stimulating 
beverages.  Mucilaginous  drinks  of  slippery  elm 
and  gum-arabic  are  best.  A  recumbent  posture  is 
best:  take  no  more  exercise  than  is  actually 
necessary.  Preserve  perfect  cleanliness,  and  be 
careful  not  to  communicate,  by  means  of  the 
fingers  or  towels,  any  of  the  virus  to  the  nose, 
eyes,  or  mouth,  or  any  abraded  surface,  as  it  will 
similarly  affect  those  parts,  producing  purulent 
discharges,  &c. 

GLEET. 

This  follows  frequent  attacks  of  gonorrhoea,  and 
the  debility  of  the  parts  occasioned  thereby. 
This  disease  is  uninfectious,  and  unattended  with 
pain,  unless  there  is  stricture. 

Treatment. — Give,  first,  general  tonic  treatment ; 
next  place  the  genitals  in  the  cup,  with  the  posi- 
tive S.  C.,  negative  on  the  spine,  and  over  the  kid- 
neys. Finish  with  negative  in  the  cup,  positive  on 
spine  and  cerebellum.  Treat  daily,  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes.  Give  occasional  cold  sitz-baths,  and 
bathe  the  genitals  daily  in  cold  water.  Diet  liberal, 
but  not  stimulating,  exercise  moderate ;  avoid 
lifting  and  straining,  and  everything  that  tends  to 
fatigue. 


IISTDEX. 


Abdomen,  dropsy  of,  121. 

Abortion,  176. 

Abscesses,  180. 

Ague  in  the  breast,  179. 

Alopecia,  149. 

Amaurosis,  92. 

Amenorrhoea,  172. 

Anasarca,  120. 

Aphonia,  112. 

Apoplexy,  130. 

Apparatus,  electrical,  60  ;  Dr. 
J.  Bidder's  68  ;  Mr.  Thomas 
Hall's,  64;  magneto-electric, 
65. 

Arthritis,  103. 

Ascites,  121. 

Asiatic  cholera,  108. 

Asphyxia,  159. 

Asthma,  139. 

Back,  crick  in,  162. 

Bath,  galvanic,  69. 

Battery,  galvanic,  60,  64. 

"        Chester's  electropion, 
63,  67. 

Biliousness,  187. 

Biliary  calculi,  86. 

Bladder,  inflammation  of,  79  ; 
stone  or  gravel  in,  168. 

Blood,     circulation     of,     162  ; 
"      voided  by  urine,  140. 

Boils,  160. 

Brain,  dropsy  of,  122  ;  inflam- 
mation of,  80. 

Breast,  ague  in,  179  ;  gathered, 
180. 


Bright' s  disease  of  kidneys,  170, 
Bronchia,  inflammation  of,  98, 
Bronchitis,  98  ;  chronic,  99. 
Bruises,  160. 
Bunions,  161, 
Burns,  114. 

Calculi,  biliary,  86;  urinary,  168. 

Cancer,  124. 

Canker  in  mouth,  161. 

Catalepsy,  136. 

Catarrh,  114  ;  chronic,  115. 

Cataract,  91. 

Cephalagia,  151. 

Cessation  of  menses,  175. 

Change  of  life,  175. 

Chest,  dropsy  of,  121. 

Chester's  electropion   battery, 
62,  68. 

Chicken  Pox,  105.     * 

Chilblains,  114. 

Chlorosis,  172. 

Cholera  Morbus,  107. 
"      Asiatic,  108. 
"      Infantum,  109. 

Chorea,  133. 

Colica,  or  colic,  112. 

Common  colds,  115. 

Conditions  of  health  and  dis- 
ease, 33-41. 

Congestion,  106. 

Constipation,   or    Costiveness, 
112. 

Consumption  of  lungs,  117. 

Contusions,  160. 

Corns,  161. 


200 


INDEX. 


Crick  in  neck,  back,  limbs  and 

stomach,  162. 
Croup,  97. 

Curative  agents,  41-46. 
Cystitis,  79. 

Deafness,  150. 

Debility,  general,  163  ;  ner- 
vous, 163. 

Deficient  secretion  of  milk,  79. 

Delirium  tremens,  147. 

Delivery,  177. 

Derangements,  mental,  145. 

Diabetis,  157. 

Diagnosis,  electrical,  and  me- 
dication, 71-78. 

Diaphraginitis,  89. 

Diaphragm,  inflammation  of, 
89. 

Diarrhoea,  acute,  110;  chronic, 
110. 

Diphtheria,  97. 

Disease,  conditions  of  health 
and,  33-41. 

Disease,  philosophy  of  treat* 
ing,  47-59. 

Dropsy  of  limbs  and  feet,  120  ; 
of  abdomen,  121  ;  of  chest, 

121  ;  of  brain,  122  ;  ovarian, 

122  ;  of  testicles,  123. 
Dysentery,  112. 
Dysmenorrhcea,  173. 
Dyspepsia,  110. 

Ears,  ringing  in,   152,   frozen 

162. 

Electrical  apparatus,  60. 
"        machine,  60. 
"        currents,  65. 
"        diagnosis  and  medi- 
cation, 71-77. 

Electropian  battery,  Chester's 
"      .      63,  70. 

to  make,  63. 
Electro-magnetic    or   Faradaic 

machine,  64,  67. 
Electrodes,  for  local  treatment, 
68. 


Enlargement  of  the  womb,  184 
Enteritis,  87. 
Epilepsy,  129. 
Eruptive  fever,  105. 
Eruptions,  105. 

Erysipelatous  inflammation,  78. 
Erysipelas,  144. 
Eye,  inflammation  of,  90  ;  lids 
thickened  or  granulated,  91. 

Fainting,  137. 

Falling  of  the  womb,  184. 

Falling  off  of  the  hair,  149. 

Falling  sickness,  129. 

Far-sightedness,  94. 

Felons,  160. 

Fever  and  ague,  104. 

Fever,  remittent,  105,  intermit- 
tent, 105  ;  eruptive,  105  ;  scar- 
let, 105  ;  puerperal,  or  child- 
bed, 182. 

Fistula  lachrymalis,  93  ;  in  ana, 
187. 

Flooding,  174. 

Fluor  albus,  173. 

Frost  bitten  limbs,  162. 

Frozen  ears,  limbs,  &c.,  162. 

Galvanic  battery,  61,  66. 

"        bath,  69. 
Gastritis,  84. 
Gathered  breast,  180. 
General  tonic  treatment,  75. 
Genitals,  inflammation  of,  19& 

sweating  of,  192. 
Giddiness,  137. 
Glandular  enlargement,  126. 
Gleet,  197. 
Glossitis,  97. 
Gonitis,  103. 
Gonorrhoea,  196. 
Gout,  103. 
Gravel,  168. 
Green  sickness,  172. 
Gums,  inflammation  of,  100, 

Hall,  Mr.  Thomas,  electro 
medical  apparatus,  65. 


INDEX. 


201 


Hardening  of  womb,  184 

Harmonious  growth  of  the  phy- 
sical, mental,  and  spiritual, 
necessary  for  the  health  of 
man,  23-27. 

Head,  noises  in,  152. 

Headache,  nervous,  151 ;  sick, 
152. 

Health  and  disease,  conditions 
of,  33-40. 

Heamaturia,  140. 

Heart,  palpitation  of,  137  ;  en- 
largement of,  137 ;  weakness 
of,  137. 

Hemiplegia,  132. 

Hemorrhoids,  141. 

Hemorrhagia,  active,  125 ;  pas- 
sive, 124. 

Hepatitis,  85. 

Hernia,  143. 

Hip  disease,  104. 

Hydrops,  119. 

Hydrothorax,  121. 

Hydxocephalus,  122. 

Hydrocele,  123. 

Hypertrophy,  137. 

Hypochondria,  147. 

Hysteria,  or  hysterics,  148. 

Influence  of  mind  over  man, 
27-32. 

Instruments,  or  electrodes,  for 
local  treatment,  68. 

[nflammation,  78  ;  phlegmo- 
nous,  acute,  chronic,  erysipe- 
latous,  78  ;  of  bladder,  79  ;  of 
brain,  80  ;  of-  lungs,  82  ;  of 
pleura,  83 ;  of  stomach,  84 ; 
of  liver,  85  ;  of  intestines,  87 
of  kidneys,  88  ;  of  spleen,  88; 
of  diaphragm,  89  ;  of  the 
eye,  90  ;  of  the  peritoneum, 
94  ;  of  the  internal  ear,  94  ; 
of  larynx,  95  ;  of  tonsils,  96  ; 
of  tongue,  97 ;  of  bronchia, 
98  ;  of  palate,  100  ;  of  gums, 
100  ;  of  knee,  103  ;  of  the 
ovaries,  122  ;  of  the  womb, 


182  ;  of  genitals,  192. 
Intermittent  fever,  105. 
Icterus,  113. 
Influenza,  115. 

Intestines,  inflammation  of,  87. 
Immoderate  flow  of  the  menses. 

174. 

Irregular  menstruation,  175. 
Induration,    or    hardening    oi 

womb,  184. 
Impotence,  192. 

Jaundice.  113. 

Kidder,  Dr.  Jerome,  apparatus, 

68. 
Kidneys,   inflammation  of,  88  ; 

Bright 's  disease  of,  170. 
Knee,  inflammation  of,  103. 

Local  treatment,  electrodes  for, 
63. 

Lungs,  inflammation  of,  82 ; 
hepatization  of,  156 ;  con- 
sumption of,  156  ;  weakness 
of,  166. 

Liver,  inflammation  of,  85  ;  en- 
larged, .  86  ;  torpid  and  har- 
dened, 86. 

Larynx,  inflammation  of,  95. 

Laryngitis,  95. 

Limbs,  frost-bitten,  162  ;  drop- 
sy of,  120  ;  frozen,  162,  cramp 
in,  162. 

Loss  of  voice,  116. 

Life,  change  of,  175. 

Leucorrhcea,  173. 

Matter,  primal  condition  of,  9- 

14. 
Man,  continued  progress  of,  15- 

22. 

"  health  of,  dependent  upon 
harmonious  growth,  23- 
26. 

"    influence   of  mind  over 
27-32. 


202 


INDEX. 


Mind,  its  influence  over  man, 
27-32. 

Medication,  75. 

Magneto-electric  apparatus,  65. 

Myopia,  93. 

Measles,  105. 

Mental  derangements,  145. 

Mania-a-poki,  147. 

Mouth,  sore,  161 ;  nursing  sore, 
182  ;  canker  in,  161. 

Menses,  retention  of,  171  ; 
suppression  of,  172  ;  im- 
moderate flow  of,  174  ;  cessa- 
tion of,  175. 

Menstruation,  irregular,  175 ; 
painful  or  difficult,  173. 

Menorrhagia,  174. 

Miscarriage,  176. 

Mumps,  101. 

Milk,  deficient  secretion  of,  179; 
suppression  of,  179. 

Milk  leg,  183. 

Nephritis,  88. 
Near-sightedness,  93. 
Neuralgia,  156. 
Nervous  headache,  151. 
Nervous  debility,  163. 
Noises  in  head,  152. 
Nipples,  sore,  179. 
Nursing  sore  mouth,  182. 
Nodes,  196. 

New-born  infants,  asphyxia  of, 
160. 

Ovaries,  inflammation  of,  122. 

Opthalmia,  90. 

Otitis,  94. 

Ovarian  dropsy,  122. 

11       tumor,  122. 

"       inflammation,  122. 
Oreana,  164. 

Primal  condition  of  matter,  9- 

14. 
Progress  of  creation  up  to  man, 

9-14. 
"       of  man  as  a  physical 


and  spiritual  being,  15-22. 
Philosophy  of  treating  diseasq 

47-59. 

Phlegmonous  inflammation,  7& 
Pleura,  inflammation  of,  83. 
Peritoneum,    inflammation  of 

94. 

Palate,  inflammation  of,  100. 
Phrenitis,  80. 
Pneumonia,  82. 
Presbyopia,  94. 
Peritonitis,  94. 
Paratitis,  101. 
Puerperal  fever,  182. 
Phthisis  pulmonalis,  117. 
Paralysis,  131  ;  local,  132. 
Palsy,  131. 

Palpitatio  cordis,  137. 
Palpitation  of  the  heart,  137. 
Piles,  141. 

Prolapsus  ani,  142  ;  uteri,  184. 
Polypus,  164. 
Pregnancy,  176. 
Parturition,  177. 
Phlegmasia  dolens,  183. 

Quinsy,  96. 

Bemarks  upon  electrical  cur- 
rents, 65. 

Bheumatism,  inflammatory, 
101 ;  chronic,  102. 

Kemittent  fever,  105. 

Retention  of  urine,  140 ;  of 
menses,  171. 

Eupture,  143. 

Bickets,  144. 

Binging  in  ears,  152. 

Becent  wounds,  160. 

Spiritual,  mental  and  physical 

growth,  23-32. 
Stomach,  inflammation  of,  84 ; 

cramp  in,  162  ;  weakness  o£ 

166. 

Spleen,  inflammation  of,  88. 
Splenitis,  88. 
Stye,  91. 


INDEX. 


203 


Strabismus,  93. 

Squinting,  93. 

Scarlet-fever,  105. 

Sinall-pox,  105. 

Sores  and  ulcers,  105. 

Scalds,  114. 

Sperrnatocele,  123. 

Swellings,  126. 

Scrofula,  127. 

St.  Vitus'  dance,  133. 

Syncope,  137.  ^ 

St.  Anthony's  fire,  144. 

Spinal  curvature,  153  ;  irrita- 
tion, 155. 

Suspended  animation,  159. 

Sore  mouth,  161;  nursing,  182. 

Sore  nipples,  179. 

Sick  headache,  152. 

Sleeplessness,  165. 

Stammering,  165. 

Sunstroke,  166. 

Stone  in  the  bladder,  168. 

Suppression  of  menses,  172  ;  of 
milk,  179. 

Salt  rheum,  188. 

Spermatorrhoea,  188. 

Swelling  of  the  genitals,  192. 

Sweating  of  the  genitals,  193. 

Syphilis,   193  ;  secondary,  195. 

Treating  disease,  philosophy 
of,  47-59. 


Treatment,  78-197. 

"  general  tonic,  75, 

Tonsils,  inflammation  of,  96. 
Tongue,  inflammation  of,  96. 
Tonsilitis,  96. 
Trachitis,  97. 
Testicles,  dropsy  of,  123. 
Tumors,  122. 
Tetanus,  135. 
Toothache,  167. 

Urine,  retention  of,  140  ;  void- 
ing blood  by,  140. 
Ulcer  of  the  nose,  164. 
Urinary  calculi,  168. 
Utero-gestation,  176. 
Ulceration  of  the  womb,  184. 

Vertigo,  137. 

Voiding  blood  by  urine,  140. 

Vomiting,  166. 

Varicose  veins,  181. 

Womb,  inflammation  of,  182. 
ulceration  of,  184  ;  enlarge- 
ment of,  184  ;  hardening  of. 
184  ;  falling  of,  184. 

Wounds,  recent,  160. 

Weakness  of  stomach,   lungs, 
heart,  166. 

Water-brash,  166. 

Whites,  173. 


Works  on  Phrenology  and  Physiognomy. 


American  Phrenological  J  on  r- 

NAL  AND  LIFE  ILLUSTRATED.  Publish- 
ed monthly,  at  $3  a  year;  30  cte.  a  No. 

Annuals  of  Phrenology  and 
PHYSIOGNOMY.  One  yearly  12mo  vol. 
Price  25  cents  for  the  current  year. 
For  1865,  '66,  '67,'  '68,  '69,  '70,  '71,  '72, 
'73,  nine,  containing  over  350  Illustra- 
tions. In  one  volume.  $2.00. 

Constitution  of  Ulan.— Considered 
in  Relation  to  External  Objects.  By 
GEORGE  COMBB.  Muslin,  $1.50. 

Combe's  System  ot  Phrenolo- 
OY.  100  Illustrations,  $1.50. 

Chart  for  Recording  various  Develop- 
ments. Designed  for  Phrenologists. 
Paper,  10  cents. 

Defence  of  Phrenology;  Contain- 
ing an  Essay  on  the  Nature  and  Value 
of  Phrenological  Evidence.  By  Dr. 
BOARDMAN.  Muslin,  $1.25. 

Domestic  Ufe ;  or,  Marriage  Vindi- 
cated and  Free  Love  Exposed.  By  N. 
SIZER.  25  cents. 

Education :   Its   elementary  Princi- 

Sles  founded  on  the  Nature  of  Man. 
y  J.  G.  SPURZHEIM,  M.D.  $1.25. 

Education  and  Self-Improve- 
MENT  COMPLETE.  Comprising  Physi- 
ology—Animal and  Mental;  Self-culture 
and  Memory,  and  Intellectual  Improve- 
ment. One  vol.  $3.50. 

Expression,  its  Anatomy  and  Phi- 
losophy. By  Sir  CHARLES  BELL,  K.H. 
With  numerous  Notes,  and  upward  of 
Seventy  Illustrations.  $1.25. 

Ho iv  to  Read  Character.— A  New 
Illustrated  Hand-Book  of  Phrenology 
and  Physiognomy,  for  Students  and 
Examiners.  170  Engravings.  $1.00: 
Muslin,  $1.25. 

Lectures  on  Phrenology.  —  By 
QEO.  COMBE.  With  Notes.  $1.50. 

Marriage.  Its  History  and  Ceremo- 
nies, with  a  Phrenological  and  Physio- 
logical Exposition  of  the  Functions  and 
Qualifications  for  Happy  Marriages. 
12mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

Matrimony :  or,  Phrenology  and 
Physiology  applied  to  the  Selection  of 
Congenial  Companions  for  Life.  50  cts. 

Memory  and  Intellectual  Im- 
provement, applied  to  Self-Education 
and  Juvenile  Instruction.  $1.25. 

Mental  Science,  according  to  tho 
Philosophy  of  Phrenology.  By  Q.  S. 
WEAVER.  $1.25. 


Moral  Philosophy ;  or,  the  Duties 
of  Man  considered  in  his  Individual, 
Domestic  and  Social  Capacities.  By 
GEORGE  COMBE.  $1.50. 

Natural  Laws  of  Man.— Questions 
with  Answers.  By  J.  G.  SPURZHEIM. 
Muslin.  50  cents. 

New  Physiognomy;  or,  Signs  of 
Character,  as  manifested  through  Tem- 
perament and  External  Forms,  and 
especially  in  the  "Human  Face  Di- 
vine." With  more  than  One  Thousand 
Illustrations.  By  S.  R.  WELLS.  In  three 
styles  of  binding.  Price,  in  one  12mo 
volume,  768  pp.  Muslin,  $5;  heavy  calf, 
marbled  edges,  $8;  Turkey  morocco, 
full  gilt,  $10. 

Phrenology  and  the  Scriptures. 

By  Rev.  JOHN  PIBRPONT.    25  cents. 

Phrenology  Proved,  Illnstra- 

TED,  AND  APPLIED.      $1.50. 

Phrenological  Busts.  —  Showing 
the  latest  classification,  and  exact  loca- 
tion of  the  Organs  of  the  Brain,  fully 
developed,  designed  for  Learners.  It 
is  divided  so  as  to  show  each  individual 
Organ  onone'side;  and  all  the  groups- 
Social,  Executive,  Intellectual,  and 
Moral— properly  classified  on  the  other 
side.  There  are  two  sizes.  The  largest 
is  sold  in  Box,  at  $2;  The  smaller  one, 
by  mail,  post-paid,  $1. 

Phrenological  Guide.  Designed 
for  the  Use  of  Students.  Paper,  25  cte. 

Self-Culture  and  Perfection  of 
CHARACTER,  with  Management  of 
Children.  $1.25. 

Self-Instructor  in  Phrenology 

AND  PHYSIOLOGY.  With  over  One 
Hundred  Engravings.  Paper,  50  cents; 
muslin,  75  cents. 

Symbolical  Head  and  Phreno- 

LOGICAL  MAP,  on  fine  tinted  paper.  lOc. 

Wells'   New  Descriptive  Chart 

for  Use  of  Examiners,  giving  a  Delinea- 
tion of  Character.  Paper,  25  cents; 
Flexible  muslin,  50  cents. 
Your  Character  from  Tour 
LIKENESS.  For  particulars,  how  to 
have  pictures  taken  for  examination, 
inclose  stamp  for  a  copy  of  "  Mirror  of 
the  Mind." 


All  works  pertaining  to  the  "  SCIENCE  OP  MAN,'*  including  Phrenology,  Physiognomy 
Ethnology,  Psychology,  Physiology,  Anatomy,  Hygiene,  Dietetics,  etc.,  supplied 
Send  stamp  for  Illustrated  and  Descriptive  Catalogue  witk  full  titles,  also  inclose  stain 
for  Special  Terms  to  Agents. 

Address  S.  R.  WELLS  &  CO.,  Publishers,  737  Broadway,  N.  Y 


New  and  Standard  Health  Books. 


Anatomical  and  Physiological 

PLATES.  Arranged  expressly  for  Lec- 
tures on  Health,  Physiology,  etc.  By 
R.  T.  TRALL,  M.D.  Six,  fully  colored, 
and  mounted  on  rollers.  Price,  $15,  net. 

Accidents  and  Emergencies.— 

A  Guide  for  Treatment  of  Wounds, 
Burns,  Sprains,  Bites,  Drowning,  etc. 
New  and  revised  edition.  25  cents. 

Alcoholic  Controversy. —A  Re- 
view of  the  Westminster  Review.    50  c. 
Chemistry,  and  Its  Application 

to  Physiology,  Agriculture,  and  Com- 
merce. By  LEIBIG.  25  cents. 

Children  .—Their  Management  in 
Health  and  Disease.  By  SHEW.  $1.50. 

Cnre  of  Consumption  by  the 
SWEDISH  MOVEMENTS.  By  Dr.  WAKK. 
Paper,  25  centa. 

Digestion  and  Dyspepsia.— The 
Digestive  Process  explained,  and 
Treatment  of  Dyspepsia  given.  $1.00. 

Diseases  of  the  Throat  and 
LUNGS.  Illustrated.  25  cents. 

Domestic  Practice  of  Hydro- 
PATHY.  By  E.  JOHNSON,  M.D.  $1.50. 

Fa-miUj  Gymnasium.— Methods  of 
applying  Gymnastic,  Calisthenic, 
and  Kmesipathic  Exercises.  $1.50. 

Food  and  Diet.— With  Observations 
on  the  Dietetical  Regimen,  suited  for 
Disordered  States  of  the  Digestive 
Organs.  By  PEREERA.  $1.50. 

Fruits  and  Farinacea,  the 
PROPER  FOOD  OF  MAN.  $1.50. 

Health  Catechism  or  Questions 
AND  ANSWERS.  By  Dr.  TRALL.  10  cts. 

Hydropathic  Cook -Book.  — A 
Philosophical  Exposition  of  the  Rela- 
tions of  Food  to  Health.  $1.25. 

Hydropathic  Encyclopedia.— 
Embracing  Anatomy,  Physiology  of 
the  Human  Body;  and  the  Preservation 
of  Health,  including  the  Nature,  Causes, 
Symptoms,  and  Treatment  of  Disease. 
By  R.  T.  TRALL,  M.D.  $4.00. 

Hygeian  Home  Cook-Hook;  or, 
How  to  Cook  Healthful  and  Palatable 
Food  without  Condiments.  25  cents. 

Family  Physician.— A  Ready  Pre- 
scriber  and  Hygienic  Adviser.  $4.00. 

Management  of  Infancy,  Physio- 
logical and  Moral  Treatment.  $1.25. 

Medical  Electricity,  showing  its 
most  scientific  application  to  all  forms 
of  Disease.  By  WHITE.  $2. 

Midwifery  and  the  Diseases  of 
WOMEN.  With  General  Management 
of  Child-birth,  the  Nursery,  etc.  $1.50. 


Movement  -  C  ure.  —  An  Expositior 

of  the  Swedish  Movement-Cure.    1.50. 

Mother's  Hygienic  Hand- 

BOOK,  for  the  Normal  Development  and 
Training  of  Women  and  Children,  and 
the  Treatment  of  their  Diseases.  $i. 

Notes  on  Beauty,  Vigor,  and 
DEVELOPMENT;  or,  How  to  Acquire 
Plumpness,  Strength,  and  Beauty.  lOc. 

Philosophy  of  the  Water-Cure. 
A  Development  of  the  Principles  of 
Health  and  Longevity.  50  cents. 

Popular  Physiology.— A  work  for 
the  general  reader,  and  arranged  as  a 
Text-book  for  Sckools,  Colleges,  and 
Families.  $1.25. 

Physiology  of  Digestion,  with 
relation  to  the  principles  of  Dietetics. 
By  ANDREW  COMBE,  M.D.  50  cents. 

Practice  of  the  Water-Cure.- 

An  account  of  the  various  procescs.  50c, 
Physiology,  Animal  and  Men- 

TAL.  Health  of  Body  and  of  Mim*.  $1.25. 

Principles  of  Physiology  applied 
to  the  Preservation  of  Health  and  the 
Improvement  of  Physical  and  Meotai 
Education.  By  COMBE.  $1.50. 

The  Science  of  Human  JLife.  B> 
SYLVESTER  GRAHAM.  $3.00. 

Sober  and  Temperate  Life,— 
Discourses  and  Letters  of  Louis  COR 
NARO,  with  Biography.  50  cents. 

Tea  and  Coffee,  Their  Physical,  In 
tellectual,  and  Moral  Effects.  25  cts. 

The  Bath.— Its  History  and  Uses  ii 
Health  and  Disease.  Paper,  25  cents. 

The  Human  Feet.— Their  Shape 
Dress,  and  Care.  Musiin,  $1.00. 

The  True  Healing  Art;  or,  Hygi 
enic  vs.  Drug  Medication.  25  cents 

The  Parents'  Guide;  or,  Humai 
Development  through  Inherited  Ten- 
dencies. $1.25. 

The  Hygienic  Hand-Book. —^ 
Guide  for  the  Sick-Room.  $1.50. 

Tobacco.  Its  Physical,  Intellectual 
and  Moral  Effects.  25  cents. 

Water -Cure  in  Chronic  DIS- 
EASES.—Causes,  Progress  and  Termina 
tion  of  the  Diseases,  and  Treatment 
By  J.  M.  GULLY,  M.D.  $1.50. 

Water-Cure  for  the  Million.- 
Process  of  Water-Cure  Explained.  25c 

Special  last.— We  have  also  Private 
Medical  Works  and  Treatises,  which 
although  not  adapted  to  general  circu 
lation,  are  invaluable  to  those  wh( 
need  them.  This  Special  List  will  b< 
sent  on  receipt  of  stamp. 


For  sale  by  Booksellers,  or  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price.  Agents  Wante 
Address  S.  R.  WELLS  &  CO.,  Publishers,  737  Broadway,  N.  1 


Works  for  Home  Improvement. 


The  Indispensable  Hand-Book 

FOB  HOME  IMPROVEMENT.  Comprising 
"How  t®  Write,"  "How  to  Talk,* 
"How  to  Behave,"  and  "How  to  Do 
Business."  One  large  vol.,  $2.25. 

Hour  to  \VrIte,  a  Manual  of  Compo- 
sition and  Letter- Writing.  Muslin,  75c. 

Hour  to  Talk,  a  Manual  of  Conversa- 
tion and  Debate,  with  Mistakes  in 
Speaking  Corrected.  75  cents. 

How  to  Behave,  a  Manual  of  Eti- 
quette and  Guide  to  Personal  Habits, 
with  Rules  for  Debating.  75  cents. 

How  to  I>o  Business,  a  Pocket 
Manual  of  Practical  Affairs,  and  a  Guide 
to  Success,  with  Legal  Forms.  75  cts. 

Right  Word  In  the  Right 
PLACE.  Dictionary  of  Synonyms,  Tech- 
nical Terms,  Phrases,  etc.  75  cents. 

Weaver's  Works.  — Comprising 
"  Hopes  and  Helps,"  "  Aims  and  Aids,'1 
"  Ways  of  Life.'f  One  vol.,  $2.50. 

Hopes  and  Helps  for  the  Young 
Character,  Avocation,  Health,  Amuse- 
ment, Courtship  and  Marriage.  $1.25. 

Aims  and  Aids  for  Girls  and 
YOUNG  WOMEN,  on  Duties  of  Life.  $1.25. 

Ways  of  Life,  showing  the  Right 
Way  and  the  Wrong  Way;  the  Way  of 
Honor  and  the  Way  of  Dishonor.  $1. 

Life  at  Home ;  or,  the  Family  and 
its  Members.  Husbands,  Wives,  Par- 
ents, Children,  Brothers,  Sisters,  Em- 
ployers and  Employed.  $1.50;  gilt,  $2. 

Wedlock;  or,  the  Right  Relations  of 
the  Sexes,  disclosing  the  Laws  of  Con- 
jugal Selection.  Showing  Who  May  and 
Who  May  Not  Marry.  By  S.  R.  WELLS. 
$1.50;  fnll  gilt,  $2.  " 

Oratory— Sacred  and  Secular; 
or,  The  Extemporaneous  Speaker.  In- 
cluding a  Chairman's  Guide.  $1.25. 

The  Temperance  Reformation. 
From  the  first  Temperance  Society  in 
the  U.  S.  to  the  Maine  Law.  $1.25. 

How  to  P  a  i  n  t  .—Designed  for 
Tradesmen,  Mechanics,  and  Farmers. 
Plain  and  Fancy  Painting,  Graining, 
Varnishing,  Kalsomining,  and  Paper 
Hanging.  By  GARDNER.  $1.00. 

The  Carriage  Painter's   Illus- 

TRATED  MANUAL.  A  Treatise  on  the 
Art,  Science,  and  Mystery  of  Coach, 
Carriage,  and  Car  Painting.  $1.00. 

Man  in  Genesis  and  in  Geology; 
or,  the  Biblical  account  of  Man's  Crea- 
tion tested  by  Scientific  Theories.  $1. 

Heart  Echoes*  a  Book  of  Poems- 
By  HELEN  A.  MANVILLB.  Cloth,  $1. 

The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul.— 
By  GEO.  JARVIS  GEER,  D.D.  75  cents. 

Address  S.  R.  WELLS  &  CO., 


The  Emphatic  Diaglott ;  or,  The 

New  Testament  in  Greek  and  English. 
Containing  the  Original  Greek  Text  of 
the  New  Testament,  with  an  Interline- 
ary  English  Translation.  By  BENJ. 
WILSON.  Price  $4;  extra  fine,  *5. 

The    Culture    of   the    Human 

V  o  i  c  E  .  —  Its  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Pathology,  Therapeutics,  and  Training. 
By  TRALL.  50  cts.;  cloth,  75  cts. 

jCsop's     Fables     Illustrated.-- 

People's  Pictorial  Ed.  Tinted  paper,  $1. 

Gems  of  Goldsmith;— The  Travel- 
er, The  Deserted  Village,  and  the  Her- 
mit. With  Illustrations.  Full  gilt.  $1. 

Pope's  Essay  on  Man.— With 
Notes.  Beautifully  illustrated.  Gilt,  $1. 

library    of    Mesmerism     and 

PSYCHOLOGY.  Comprising  the  Philo^o- 
hpy  of  Mesmerism— Fascination.— The 
Macrocosm. — Electrical  Pyschology. — 
The  Science  of  the  Soul.  One  vol.  $3.50. 

Fascination :  or,  the  Power  of 
Charming.  By  J.  B  NEWMAN.  $1.25. 

Salem  Witchcraft,  with  Planchette 
Mystery  and  Modern  Spiritualism,  and 
Dr.  Doddridge's  Dream.  $1. 

Fruit  Culture  for  the  Million. 
A  Guide  to  the  Cultivation  and  Man- 
agement of  Fruit  Trees.  New  Ed.  75c. 

Saving  and  Wasting,  or  Economy 
illustrated  in  a  Tale  of  Real  Life.  $1.25. 

Footprints  of  Life;  or,  Faith  and 
Nature  Reconciled.  A  Poem.  $1.25. 

A  Self-Made  Woman;  or,  Mary 
Idyl's  Trials  and  Triumphs.  $1.50. 

Home  for  All,  or  the  Gravel  Wall. 
Showing  the  Superiority  of  Concrete 
over  Brick,  Stone,  or  Frame  Houses, . 
with  Octagon  Plans.    $1.25. 

Philosophy  of  Electrical  Psy- 
CHOLOGY.  In  Twelve  Lectures.  $1.25. 

Philosophy  of  Mesmerism  and 
CLAIRVOYANCE.  Six  Lectures,  with 
Instructions.  50  cents. 

Thoughts  for  the  Young  Men 
AND  YOUNG  WOMEN  OP  AMERICA.  75c. 

The  Christian  Household.— Em- 
bracing the  Husband,  Wife,  Father, 
Mother,  Brother,  and  Sister.  75  cents. 

Capital  Punishment,  or  the 
Proper  Treatment  of  Criminals.  10  cts. 
Education  of  the  Heart.  10  cts.  Father 
Matthew,  the  Temperance  Apostle.  lOc. 
Good  Man's  Legacy.  10  cts.  Gospel 
among  Animals.  10  cts.  The  Plaachette 
Mystery— how  to  work  it.  20c.  Alpha- 
bet for  Deaf  and  Dumb.  lOc. 

Temperance  in  Congress.— 25 c. 
Publishers,  737  Broadway,  IT.  Y. 


Know 


Thyself." 


PHRENOLOGICAL   JOURNAL 


SCIENCE    OF    HEALTH, 
A    FIRST  CLASS  MONTHLY. 


Specially  Devoted  to  the  "SCIENCE  OP  MAN."  Contains  PHRENOLOGT 
and  PFIYSIOGNOMY,  with  all  the  "  SIGNS  of  CHARACTER,  and  how  to  read 
them ;"  ETHNOLOGY,  or  the  Natural  History  of  Man  in  all  his  relation! 
to  Life;  Practical  Articles  on  PHYSIOLOGY,  DIET,  EXERCISE  and  the 
LAWS  of  LIFE  and  HEALTH.  Portraits,  Sketches  and  Biographies  of  the 
leading  Men  and  Women  of  the  World,  are  important  features. 
Much  general  and  useful  information  on  the  leading  topics  of  the  day  IB 
given.  It  is  intended  to  be  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  PICTORIAL 
FAMILY  MAGAZINE  Published.  Subscriptions  may  commence  now. 

Pew  works  will  better  repay  perusal  in  the  family  than  this  rich  storehouse  of  Instrnc 
tfon  and  entertainment.—^.  T.  Tribune.  It  grows  to  Variety  and  Valne.  fito  Pott 

Tcrnm.— A  New  Volume,  the  63d.  commences  with  the  July  Number.  Pnb- 
hahed  Monthly,  in  octavo  form,  at  $3  a  year,  in  advance.  Sample  numbers  sent  by  first 
post,  80  cents.  Clubs  of  ten  or  more,  $2  each  per  copy,  and  an  extra  copy  to  agent 

Ve  are  now  offering  the  most  liberal  oremiams  ever  iriven  for  clubs,  for  1876.  InckMB 
suimpe  for  list.  Address,  g.  K.  WELLS  &  CO.,  737  Broadway,  New  York. 


W'"-INCR,£AYET0S£AC7  °UE-  ™E  "ENALTY 
DAY  AND  TO  *i.OO  ON  TH  °« JHE  F°URTH 
OVERDUE.  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


JV5- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


